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THE  ARDEN  SHAKESPEARE 


HAMLET. 

Edited  by  Edmund  K.  Chambers,  B.  A.,  Oxford. 
MACBETH. 

Edited  by  Edmund  K.  Chambers,  B.  A.,  Oxford. 
JULIUS   CESAR. 

Edited  by  Arthur  D.  Innes.  M.  A.,  Oxford. 
THE   MERCHANT   OF   VENICE. 

Edited  by  H.  L.  Withers,  B.  A.,  Oxford. 
TWELFTH    NIGHT. 

Edited  by  Arthur  D.  Innes,  M.  A.,  Oxford. 
AS   YOU   LIKE  IT. 

Edited  by  J.  C.  Smith,  M.  A.,  Edinburgh. 
A   MIDSUMMER   NIGHT'S   DREAM. 

Edited  by  Edmund  K.  Chambers,  B.  A.,  Oxford. 
CYMBELINE. 

Edited  by  A.  J.  Wyatt,  M.  A.,  Cambridge. 
THE   TEMPEST. 

Edited  by  F.  S.  Boas,  M.  A.,  Oxford. 
KING  JOHN. 

Edited  by  G.  C.  Moore  Smith,  M.  A.,  Cambridge. 
RICHARD   II. 

Edited  by  C.  H.  Herford,  L.  H.  D.,  Cambridge. 
RICHARD   III. 

Edited  by  George  Macdonald,  M.  A.,  Oxford. 
HENRY    IV  — FIRST   PART 

Edited  by  F.  W.  Moorman,  B.  A.,  Yorkshire  College. 
HENRY   V. 

Edited  by  G.  C.  Moore  Smith,  M.  A.,  Cambridge. 
HENRY   VIII. 

Edited  by  D.  Nichol  Smith,  M.  A.,  Edinburgh. 
CORIOLANUS. 

Edited  by  Edmund  K.  Chambers,  B.  A.,  Oxford. 
MUCH   ADO   ABOUT   NOTHING. 

Edited  by  J.  C.  Smith,  M.  A.,  Edinburgh. 
KING  LEAR. 

Edited  by  D.  Nichol  Smith,  M.  A.,  Edinburgh. 

The  remaining  volumes  will  also  be  edited. 


Price,  25  cents  per  volume 


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Deatb'0  jBngMgB  gfagefcg 


THE  TRAGEDY        tUol.4i 


OF 


CORIOLANUS 


EDITED  BY 


EDMUND  K.  CHAMBERS 

SOMETIME  SCHOLAR  OF  CORPUS  CHRISTI  COLLEGE,  OXFORD 
EDITOR  OF  "HAMLET,"   "MIDSUMMER   NIGHT'S   DREAM,"    ETC. 


BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 

D.   C.    HEATH  &   CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

1905 


3 


A-ZC46 


GENERAL    PREFACE 


In  this  edition  of  Shakespeare  an  attempt  is  made  to 
present  the  greater  plays  of  the  dramatist  in  their  literary- 
aspect,  and  not  merely  as  material  for  the  study  of  philology 
or  grammar.  Criticism  purely  verbal  and  textual  has  only 
been  included  to  such  an  extent  as  may  serve  to  help  the 
student  in  the  appreciation  of  the  essential  poetry.  Questions 
of  da'te  and  literary  history  have  been  fully  dealt  with  in  the 
Introductions,  but  the  larger  space  has  been  devoted  to  the 
interpretative  rather  than  the  matter-of-fact  order  of  scholar- 
ship. Aesthetic  judgments  are  never  final,  but  the  Editors 
have  attempted  to  suggest  points  of  view  from  which  the 
analysis  of  dramatic  motive  and  dramatic  character  may  be 
profitably  undertaken.  In  the  Notes  likewise,  while  it  is 
hoped  that  all  unfamiliar  expressions  and  allusions  have  been 
adequately  explained,  yet  it  has  been  thought  even  more 
important  to  consider  the  dramatic  value  of  each  scene,  and 
the  part  which  it  plays  in  relation  to  the  whole.  These 
general  principles  are  common  to  the  whole  series;  in  detail 
each  Editor  is  alone  responsible  for  the  play  intrusted  to 
him. 

Every  volume  of  the  series  has  been  provided  with  a 
Glossary,  an  Essay  upon  Metre,  and  an  Index ;  and  Appen- 
dices have  been  added  upon  points  of  special  interest,  which 
could  not  conveniently  be  treated  in  the  Introduction  or  the 
Notes.  The  text  is  based  by  the  several  Editors  on  that  of 
the  Globe  edition:  the  only  omissions  made  are  those  that  are 
unavoidable  in  an  edition  likely  to  be  used  by  young  students. 

By  the  systematic  arrangement  of  the  introductory  matter, 
and  by  close  attention  to  typographical  details,  every  effort 
has  been  made  to  provide  an  edition  that  will  prove  con- 
venient in  use. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Introduction vii 

Dramatis  Persons xviii 

Coriolanus i 

Notes "-        -        -92 

Appendix  A — North's  Translation  of  Plutarch  154 
Appendix  B— The  Fable  of  the  Belly  -  -  -  194 
Appendix  C — The  Coriolanus  of  History      -        -  196 

Essay  on  Metre 198 

Glossary 216 

Index  of  Words 225 

General  Index 228 


/ 


INTRODUCTION, 


i.   LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  THE   PLAY. 

No  edition  of  Coriolanus  is  known  earlier  than  the  First 
Folio  of  1623  (Fi);  and  it  is  improbable  that  there  was  any 
such  edition,  for  the  play  is  one  of  those  entered  The  First  Folio 
upon  the  Stationers'  Registers  by  the  publishers  Edition  (Fi) 
of  the  Folio  on  Nov.  8th,  1623,  and  stated  not  to  °  *  23' 
have  been  "formerly  entered  to  other  men".  In  Fi  The 
Tragedy  of  Coriolanus  was  originally  printed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  tragedies  and  followed  by  Titus  Andronicus. 
Afterwards  Troilus  and  Cressida,  which  had  been  somehow 
omitted  from  its  proper  place  after  Romeo  and  Juliet ',  seems 
to  have  been  inserted  before  it.  There  is  some  dispute  as  to 
the  merits  of  the  Folio  text.  Charles  Knight  says,  "With  the 
exception  of  a  few  obvious  typographical  errors,  such  as  in- 
variably occur  even  under  the  eye  of  an  author  when  a  book 
is  printed  from  manuscript,  the  text  is  wonderfully  accurate  ". 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Cambridge  editors,  who  are  perhaps 
the  best  authorities  on  such  a  point,  say,  "  The  text  abounds 
with  errors,  due  probably  to  the  carelessness  or  the  illegibility 
of  the  manuscript  from  which  it  was  printed".  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  the  second  verdict  is  the  true  one.  Certainly 
an  editor  has  to  admit  an  unusual  number  of  emendations 
and  to  rearrange  an  unusual  number  of  lines  in  this  play.  The 
text  of  F 1  was  practically  reprinted  in  the  Second,  Third,  and 
Fourth  Folios  of  1632,  1664,  and  1685.  With  TheprobabU 
regard  to  the  time  at  which  the  play  was  written,  Say  :°eariier 
it  is  universally  admitted  to  be  comparatively  than  1612. 
late  work.     But  there  are  very  slight  grounds  on  which  to 


viii  CORIOLANUS. 

define  the  date  more  precisely.  Mr.  Halli well- Phillips  and 
Mr.  A.  P.  Paton  have  argued  that  it  must  be  later  than  1612. 
But  their  argument  rests  on  the  assumption  that  Shakespeare 
must  have  used  the  edition  of  North's  Plutarch  published  in 
that  year,  and  as  this  cannot  be  shown  to  be  the  case,  it  falls 
to  the  ground.1  The  possibility,  again,  that  something  was 
Passages  bear-  borrowed  for  Menenius'  fable  of  the  belly  in  act  i. 
ing  on  the  date.  sc  j  from  Camden's  Remaines,  published  in  1605, 
does  not  help  us  very  much.  No  doubt  the  play  was  later 
than  that.2  So,  too,  the  "coal  of  fire  upon  the  ice"  of  i.  1. 
170  may  or  may  not  be  a  reminiscence  of  the  great  frost  of 
1607-8,  when  the  Thames  was  frozen  over.3  In  any  case,  the 
reminiscence  was  not  necessarily  a  very  recent  one.  Nor 
need  we  suppose  with  Chalmers  that  because  there  is  a  dearth 
in  the  play,  therefore  it  was  suggested  by  the  dearth  of  1608-9. 
For  the  dearth  comes  straight  from  the  source  of  the  play  in 
Plutarch.  Two  other  passages  require  more  careful  consider- 
ation.    It  has  been  suggested  that  the  simile  in  iii.  2.  79, 

"Now  humble  as  the  ripest  mulberry, 
That  will  not  bear  the  handling  ", 

may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  in  1609,  at  the  instigation 
of  James  the  First,  many  hundred  thousand  young  mulberries 
were  planted  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  breeding  silk- 
worms. This  seems  far-fetched.  Mulberries  were  well- 
known  in  England  at  a  much  earlier  period.  They  are 
mentioned  by  Spenser  and  in  the  Herbals  of  Lyte  (1578) 
and  Gerard  (1597);  and  they  are  mentioned  by  Shakespeare 
himself  in  Venus  and  Adonis,  1 103  (1593),  and  in  Midsummer- 
Nighfs  Dream,  iii.  1.  151  (1595).4  The  second  parallel  is  per- 
haps of  more  importance.  Steevens  pointed  out  the  resem- 
blance between  the  phrase  "He  lurch'd  all  swords  o'  th' 
garland"  in  ii.  2.  97,  and  that  in  Ben  Jonson's  Epicoene  or 

1  Cf.  Appendix  A,  Plutarch  s  Life  of  Coriolanus. 

*  Cf.  Appendix  B,  On  the  Fable  of  the  Belly. 
8  Cf.  Stowe's  Annals,  ed.  Howes,  p  891. 

*  Cf.  Ellacombe,  Plant-Lore  and  Garden-Craft  of  Shakespeare,  s.v.  Mul- 
berries 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

The  Silent  Woman,  v.  i,  "Well,  Dauphine,  you  have  lurched 
your  friends  of  the  better  half  of  the  garland  ".  Malpne  rather 
pooh-poohed  the  parallel  on  the  ground  that  a  similar  phrase 
occurs  also  in  Nash ;  but  the  Clarendon  Press  editors  have 
pointed  out  that  this  similarity  only  extends  to  the  use  of  the 
word  'lurch'.  The  Silent  Woman  was  acted  in  1609,  and 
whether  Jonson  imitated  Shakespeare  or  Shakespeare  imi- 
tated Jonson,  there  would  not  be  much  point  in  the  trans- 
action unless  the  two  plays  came  out  within  a  year  or  so  of 
each  other.  But  I  do  not  feel  at  all  sure  that  there  was  any 
borrowing  at  all.  The  phrase  may  have  been  a  proverbial 
one. 

'  The  external  evidence  then,  such  as  it  is,  is  at  least  con- 
sistent with  the  date  1608-1610.  And  it  is  to  some  such  date 
that  the  evidence  of  style  and  metre  also  points.  The  approxi_ 
A  glance  at  §§16-19  of  the  Essay  on  Metre  at  mate  date  1608- 
the  close  of  this  volume  will  show  that,  so  far  as  by1  Evidence  of 
metre  goes,  Coriolanus  belongs  to  the  last  half-  Style  and  Metre. 
dozen  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  and  that  it  has  closer  affinities 
with  Antony  and  Cleopatra  than  with  any  other  single  play. 
A  study  of  the  proportions  in  which  rhyme  (§  17),  enjamb- 
ments  (§  16(H)),  weak  endings  (§16  (hi)),  and  mid-line  pauses 
(§16  (iv))  occur  will  serve  to  confirm  this  impression.  Of  all 
these  'tests'  that  of  weak  endings  is  the  most  significant,  for  the 
introduction  of  these  was  not  a  gradual  but  a  sudden  change 
in  style,  which  is  characteristic  of  Shakespeare's  latest  period. 
Various  resemblances  in  thought,  as  will  be  pointed  out  later 
on,  also  serve  to  connect  Coriolanus  and  Antony  and  Cleo- 
patra, no  less  than  a  certain  cumbrousness  of  overcharged 
style.  In  both  these  plays  the  chief  function  of  the  annotator 
is  to  paraphrase  the  closely-packed  pregnant  sentences.  Now 
nearly  all  scholars  agree  in  dating  Antony  and  Cleopatra  not 
long  before  the  entry  of  it  in  the  Stationers'  Registers  on  May 
20th,  1608,  and  if  we  suppose  Coriolanus  to  have  followed  it 
in  the  course  of  the  next  year,  1607-1608,  this  will  fit  in  very 
well  with  the  Ben  Jonson  parallel. 

Of  the  early  stage  history  of  Coriolanus  nothing  is  known 
to  us.     In  1682  the  play  was  cooked  up  by  Nahum  Tate  into 


x  CORIOLANUS. 

a  version  called  The  Ingratitude  of  a  Commonwealth.  This 
was  produced  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  but  the  actors'  names  are 
Corioianus  on  not  recorded.  Tate's  Valeria  is  said  to  have 
the  Stage.  been  a  satire  upon    the  clever    and    affected 

Margaret  Lucas,  Duchess  of  Newcastle.  In  17 19  the  play 
was  again  sophisticated  in  The  Invader  of  his  Country ',  by 
John  Dennis,  in  which  Booth  acted  Corioianus.  Other  adap- 
tations followed,  in  one  of  which  Kemble  and  Mrs.  Siddons 
made  a  mark.  A  more  Shakespearean  text  has  been  revived 
during  the  present  century,  and  Kean,  Macready,  and  Phelps 
have  all  appeared  in  the  play.  But  it  has  not  been  seen  in 
London  since  1853. 

2.  SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  other  plays  founded  on  Roman 
history,  fulius  Caesar  and  Antony  and  Cleopatra^  Shake- 
The  Source-  speare  appears  to  have  taken  all  his  historical 
Plutarch's  Life  material  for  Corioianus  from  Sir  Thomas  North's 
>no  anus.  transiatjon  0f  Plutarch's  Parallel  Lives.  To  en- 
able the  student  to  make  the  necessary  comparison,  I  have 
printed  the  Life  of  Corioianus  in  Appendix  A.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  notes  to  each  scene  I  have  added  some 
remarks  on  the  manner  in  which  Shakespeare  adapted  the 
story  he  found  to  his  hand.  Roughly  it  may  be  said  that  he 
Shakespeare's  preserves  Plutarch's  outlines  just  so  far  as  dra- 
Use  of  Plutarch.  matic  convenience  allows.  The  plot  and  the 
main  outlines  of  the  character  of  Corioianus  come  straight 
from  the  source.  But  he  has  added  or  omitted  details  of  the 
former  in  order  to  ensure  dramatic  simplicity,  and  he  has 
clothed  it  in  the  dramatic  flesh  and  blood  of  imaginary  scenes. 
And  to  the  latter  he  has  given  a  breathing  vitality  by  in- 
numerable subtle  touches.  Similarly  in  the  secondary  men 
and  women,  Menenius,  Aufidius,  Volumnia,  Virgilia,  the  Tri- 
bunes, he  has  worked  upon  mere  hints  and  suggestions  of 
Plutarch's  to  create  living  figures.  In  two  or  three  memor- 
able scenes  he  has  borrowed  the  very  turns  and  phraseology 
of  Plutarch's  speeches.     On  his  indebtedness  to  Plutarch,  or 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

rather  to  North,  in  this  respect,  I  may  refer  to  some  admir- 
able remarks  by  Mr.  George  Wyndham  in  his  introduction 
to  the  Tudor  Translations  reprint  of  the  Lives.  North's 
English  is,  indeed,  as  Mr.  Wyndham  claims  for  it,  a  grand 
specimen  of  Elizabethan  prose  at  its  best.  Yet  we  may  regret 
that  Shakespeare  yielded  to  the  temptation  of  following  too 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  even  so  fine  a  master.  And  if  any- 
one doubts  this,  I  would  ask  him  to  compare  the  two  great 
speeches  of  act  iv.  sc.  5.  That  of  Coriolanus  is  Shakespeare 
putting  North  into  blank  verse ;  that  of  Aufidius  is  Shake- 
speare unalloyed.  The  first  is  good  dramatic  stuff,  but  the 
second  is  magnificent  poetry.  And  the  same  is  less  markedly 
true  of  the  two  speeches  of  Volumnia  in  act  v.  sc.  3. 

3.  CRITICAL  APPRECIATION. 

On  the  whole,  it  appears  probable  that  Coriolanus  was 
the  last  of  the  great  Shakespearean  tragedies,  the  ultimate 
fruit  of  that  autumn  of  pessimistic  thought,  to  Coriolanus  the 
which  we  owe  alike  the  denunciations  of  Lear  last  of  the 
and  Timon  and  the  intolerable  pathos  of  Othello.  rage  ' 
After  it  was  written  there  came,  quite  suddenly,  it  would 
seem,  a  turning-point  in  the  master's  life.  With  the  return 
to  the  peaceful  meadows  of  Stratford,  if  we  divine  rightly,  the 
burden  of  the  city  days  fell  off.  A  happier  mood  awoke. 
The  three  closing  dramas,  Cytnbeline,  The  Winter's  Tale, 
The  Tempest,  are  filled  with  a  sane  philosophy  and  a  deep- 
veined  humanity;  the  poet's  last  words  are  of  belief  in  an 
overruling  power,  that  somewhere  far-off  faintly  makes  for 
good.  But  of  this  new  spirit  there  is  nothing  yet  in  Coriolanus. 
The  closest  affinities  of  the  play  are  with  that  The  Pessimism 
which  probably  comes  nearest  to  it  in  point  of  ££ ° Ant"™ and 
time,  Antony  and  Cleopatra.  In  each  alike  we  Cleopatra. 
find  the  same  readiness  of  bitter  criticism,  the  same  remorse- 
less analysis,  probing  and  dissecting,  as  with  a  cruel  scalpel, 
the  intimate  weaknesses  and  basenesses  of  mankind.  In 
each,  ideals  are  shattered,  heroes  are  discrowned  and  stripped 
of  their  heroism,  until  it  is  with  difficulty  that  our  sympathies, 


xii  CORIOLANUS. 

so  essential  to  the  sense  of  tragedy,  are  retained.  Antony  and 
Coriolanus,  though  we  are  made  to  see  through  and  through 
them,  yet  have  their  hold  upon  us  to  the  end,  not  through 
the  character  of  their  passions,  but  through  their  sheer 
intensity.  In  Antony  and  Cleopatra  we  have  the  tragedy  of 
sensuality.  The  shattered  ideal  is  that  of  love.  It  is  the 
picture  of  one  who  holds  an  empire  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand,  but  who  comes  to  ruin  through  a  passion  that  is  all  of 
the  senses  and  the  imagination,  with  nothing  in  it  that  is 
tonic,  nothing  bracing,  nothing  inspiring.  It  is  a  pendant  to 
that  first  young  tragedy,  of  lives  redeemed  and  ennobled  by 
love,  in  Romeo  and  Juliet.  In  Coriolanus  the  shattered  ideal 
The  Egoism  of  *s  ^at  °^  nonour-  Beneath  the  mask  of  honour 
Honour  in  there  lurks  the  subtle  sin  of  egoism,  laid  bare 
to  us,  as  in  the  Sir  Willoughby  Patterne  of  later 
days,  by  the  patient  and  pitiless  insight  of  the  philosopher. 
Let  us,  in  the  light  of  this  central  idea,  examine  the  structure 
of  the  play. 

But  in  the  first  place  it  is  necessary  to  remove  a  possible 
misconception.  As  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra  the  environment 
The  tragedy  Per-°^  t^ie  act'on  ^s  a  political  one  :  there,  the  pur- 
sonal,  not  Poiiti-  suit  of  empire ;  here,  the  struggle  for  municipal 
power  between  nobles  and  people.  But  here, 
as  there,  the  political  interest  is  not  the  primary  one:  it  is 
subordinate  throughout  to  the  study  of  the  individual  soul  set 
in  the  midst  of  it.  Purely  political  problems,  indeed,  have 
ceased  to  be  absorbing  to  Shakespeare.  He  has  worked  them 
out,  once  for  all,  in  his  English  histories,  and  has  come  to 
his  final  conclusion  in  the  picture  of  the  true  king,  Henry  V. 
They  are  but  backgrounds  now  for  the  passions  and  idealisms 
of  men.  We  need  not  suppose  then,  that  in  delineating,  after 
Plutarch,  the  contests  of  the  patricians  and  the  plebeians  of 
republican  Rome,  he  is  writing  with  any  prophetic  insight 
into  the  coming  troubles  of  his  own  country.  Indeed,  the 
struggle  for  English  liberties,  as  it  slowly  shaped  itself  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  not  primarily  a 
struggle  of  democratic  and  aristocratic  elements  in  the  state. 
It  resulted,  no   doubt,   in   a   certain  widening  of   popular 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

liberties,  but  in  its  origin  it  was  less  political  than  religious 
and  ethical,  the  uprising  of  the  wholesome  English  city  and 
country  life  against  a  selfish  king  and  a  corrupt  court.  In 
judging  Coriolanus,  nevertheless,  Shakespeare  judges  that 
familiar  ideal  of  the  "person  of  honour"  from  which  the 
Cavalier  party  was  destined  to  derive  so  much  of  its  support, 
an  ideal  based  on  no  real  notion  of  honourable  merit,  but  on 
exclusions  and  a  false  sentiment  of  refinement. 

Rome  then  is  split  up  into  two  opposed  camps  of  patricians 
and  plebeians.  On  the  one  side  tradesmen  and  handicrafts- 
men, botchers  and  forset-sellers ;  on  the  other  The  Parties  of 
a  society  of  nobles,  wealthy  ancT  luxurious,  en-  Rome- 
joying  all  the  privileges  of  a  caste,  occupied  chiefly  in  war, 
and  esteeming  war  the  highest  of  all  human  employments. 
They  are  not  altogether  unworthy  of  their  position,  for  they 
have  fought  for  Rome,  and  have  again  and  again  led  her 
forces  to  victory.  But  of  late  the  plebeians,  weary  of  death, 
forced  wars,  and  usury,  have  rebelled  against  the  old  order  of 
things,  and  have  made  good  their  claim  to  a  share  of  political 
power.  Certain  magistrates,  known  as  tribunes,  are  appointed 
to  protect  the  popular  rights.  The  majority  of  the  patricians 
are  willing,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  to  accept  the  altered  con- 
ditions and  to  make  the  best  of  them.  They  hope  to  sur- 
render the  appearance  of  power  only  and  to  keep  the  reality. 
But  there  is  an  irreconcilable  minority  to  whom  all  conces- 
sions appear  degrading  and  dishonourable.  Of  these  the 
leader  is  Coriolanus. 

Coriolanus  is  inheritor  of  the  traditions  of  one  of  the 
proudest  houses  of  Rome.  He  has  been  brought  up  by  his 
mother  to  set  all  his  ambitions  upon  the  pursuit  The  Character 
of  honour ;  above  all,  the  honour  that  is  won  on  of  Coriolanus. 
the  field  of  battle.  He  is  the  flower  of  warriors.  Since  the 
expulsion  of  the  Tarquins  he  has  been  the  hope  of  Rome  and 
the  main-stay  of  her  armies.  When  we  first  meet  him  he  is 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  city  in  battle,  her  protagonist, 
admirable  for  his  valour  and  for  his  single-eyed  pursuit  of 
honour.  Of  petty  self-seeking  there  is  nothing  in  him.  His 
disdain  of  plunder,  or  even  of  vulgar  applause,  is  complete. 


xiv  CORIOLANUS. 

And  yet,  as  we  study  his  character  in  the  clear  light  of  the 
Shakespearean  analysis,  we  find  that  the  very  root  of  him  is  a 
sublime  egoism.  Honour  is  a  fine  thing,  as  the  reward  and 
the  sign  of  services  to  one's  country  and  deeds  well  done. 
But  for  Coriolanus,  honour  has  come  to  be  an  end  in  itself. 
"  For  my  country"  is  on  his  lips,  but  at  heart  he  thinks  of  his 
country's  good  only  as  the  ladder  of  his  own  reputation. 
And  as  we  shall  see,  it  is  this  craving  for  honour,  with  the 
subtle  egoism  it  implies,  that  leads  to  his  tragedy.  With 
such  an  ideal  and  of  such  an  humour,  Coriolanus  is  naturally 
a  patrician  of  the  patricians.  He  is  a  Tory  and  a  gentleman 
to  the  backbone.  Courteous  to  those  whom  he  accepts  as,  at 
least  by  convention,  his  equals,  he  has  nothing  but  a  curse 
and  a  sneer  for  any  man  of  the  people.  A  humane  sympathy 
with  humanity  as  such  is  no  part  of  his  nature  or  of  his 
training.  The  tradesmen  and  toilers  of  Rome  are  to  him  but 
as  a  multiplying  spawn,  fashioned  of  another  clay  from  those 
of  his  ordinance.  Their  cowardice  in  battle  and  their  un- 
washed hands  are  equally  distasteful  to  him.  Their  fickleness 
and  instability  in  politics  move  his  scorn  and  ire.  For  any 
natural  rights  of  theirs  he  cares  not  a  jot.  He  is  a  soldier, 
and  his  notion  of  government  is  discipline  when  he  gives  the 
word  of  command.  And  it  should  be  noted  that  it  is  no 
part  of  Shakespeare's  scheme  to  exalt  the  character  of  the 
plebeians  at  the  expense  of  the  patricians.  He  is  no  demo- 
»«:  ™  ^  •        cratic  sentimentalist.    In  this  play  he  is  painting 

The  Plebeians.     .     .  .      ,     _  .  _,  r    /  J!T  *, 

in  black  throughout.  The  people  are  dirty  and 
greedy  and  changeable,  and  cowardly  and  ungrateful.  Their 
teachers,  the  tribunes,  are  envious  and  conceited,  and  self- 
interested  and  treacherous.  Nevertheless  there  are  such 
things  as  the  natural  rights  of  citizens,  even  of  unwashed 
citizens,  and  the  political  problem  is  not  to  be  solved  by  dis- 
regarding them. 

Coriolanus  is  the  central  point  of  the  warring  factions  of 
Cominius,  Vol-  Rome,  and  over  against  him  stand  the  tribunes. 
EldS^'  These  are  the  leaders  of  the  opposed  parties, 
Aufidius. '  and  the  hatred  between  them  is  mutual.  And 
round  Coriolanus  the  other  personages  of  the  play  gr^'"? 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

themselves.  The  dramatic  unity  depends  upon  him,  and 
with  reference  to  him  they  are  all  conceived.  Cominius 
represents  the  moderate  men  of  the  senate,  the  statesmen, 
cautious  or  timid  a*  "you  will,  who  would  gladly  compromise 
with  the  spirit  or  democracy.  In  closer  personal  relations 
with  Coriolanus  s  and  Volumnia  and  Menenius.  Volumnia 
is  the  Roman  matron  of  the  stern  antique  type.  She  has 
brought  up  Coriolanus,  courageously  indeed  but  unwisely, 
and  has  lit  and  fostered  in  him  that  wayward  ideal  of  honour. 
Of  sympathy  or  of  any  ethics  save  those  of  the  camp,  she  has 
taught  him  nothing.  Yet  her  own  patriotism  is  more  single- 
hearted  than  his,  and  it  is  not  until  their  wills  come  into 
conflict  that  Coriolanus  realizes  how  greatly  she  dominates 
his  spirit.  She  is  the  only  one  of  the  women  in  the  play  who 
counts  for  anything.  Virgilia,  the  wife  whom  Coriolanus 
loves  as  well  as  he  can  love  anything  besides  himself,  has  for 
her  sole  function  to  touch  the  tragedy  here  and  there  with 
tears.  Menenius,  too,  has  had  his  share  in  spoiling  Corio- 
lanus' character.  He  is  a  foolish,  witty  old  noble,  fond  of 
eating  and  drinking,  and  fond  of  hearing  himself  talk,  hail- 
fellow-well-met  with  everybody,  including  the  tribunes,  and 
pluming  himself  on  a  diplomacy  which  has  no  existence.  At 
bottom  he  shares  all  the  aristocratic  prejudices,  but  his 
genial  manners  win  him  a  superficial  popularity.  His  one 
serious  emotion  is  his  love  for  Coriolanus:  him  he  'gods 
indeed '  with  foolish  praise  and  still  more  foolish  advice.  The 
only  other  important  element  in  Coriolanus'  environment  is 
his  enemy,  Aufidius  the  Volsce.  In  the  heyday  of  Coriolanus' 
success  his  personal  rivalry  with  Aufidius  is  a  keener  incen- 
tive with  him  than  the  cause  of  Rome  :  after  his  disgrace  the 
brooding  envy  of  the  defeated  antagonist  contributes  greatly 
to  his  final  ruin. 

Such  are  the  dramatis  persona,  and  the  course  of  the  plot 
flows  with  remorseless  necessity  from  their  characters.  It  is 
essential  to  tragedy  that -our  sympathies  should  Analysis  of  the 
be  in  some  sense  secured  for  the  tragic  hero.  plot 
Tragedy  springs  from  that  conflict  and  clash  of  forces  which 
brings  about  the  fracture  of  something  great,  in  Shakespeare 


; 


CORIOLANUS. 


^generally  the  ruin  or  failure  of  a  great  human  character.  In 
"order  then  that  the  catastrophe  of  the  play  may  affect^us 
tragically,  we  must  first  realize  the  greatness  involved.  /The 
first  act  shows  us  Coriolanus,  on  the  v^ole,  great;  a  great 
warrior,  undaunted  in  danger,  removed  kfc  n  above  the  greed 
and  poltroonery  of  common  men.  Flushed  with  victory  he 
returns  to  Rome  to  win  the  applause  of  the  whole  city. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  this  act,  the  weaker  and  dangerous 
elements  in  his  character,  though  hinted  at  from  time  to  time, 
are  kept  in  the  background.  But  now  they  must  be  brought 
into  prominence,  in  order  that  we  may  see  how  the  doom  of 
Coriolanus'  career  is  rooted  in  them.  The  purpose  of  the 
second  act  is  to  make  clear  his  deficiencies — deficiency  of 
sympathy  and  deficiency  of  self-control.  These  are  shown  in 
his  maladroit  candidature  for  and  ultimate  rejection  from  the 
consulship.  He  is  now  tangled  in  a  web,  woven  more  by  the 
threads  of  his  own  nature  than  by  the  intrigues  of  his  enemies. 
A  crisis  comes  in  the  third  act,  with  his  banishment  from 
Rome.  During  the  last  two  acts  he  has  almost  lost  our  sym- 
pathy through  his  folly  and  insolence ;  but  he  bears  himself 
with  dignity  in  adversity,  and  thus  our  sympathy  is  restored, 
in  subtle  preparation  for  the  inevitable  end.  But  the  end  is 
not  quite  yet.  Baffled  and  disgraced  in  Rome,  the  poor  re- 
mains of  Coriolanus'  imperfect  patriotism  rapidly  vanish.  His 
wrath  is  as  much  against  the  patricians  who  permitted  his 
banishment  as  against  the  plebeians  who  clamoured  for  it. 
But  "there  is  a  world  elsewhere".  He  will  retrieve  his  for- 
tunes and  re-establish  his  ideal  of  himself  on  a  new  stage. 
He  will  again  be  "  a  person  of  honour  "  in  Corioles.  And  so 
in  the  fourth  act  he  appears  among  the  Volsces,  and  casts  his 
all  upon  the  generosity  of  Aufidius.  At  first  his  design  pros- 
pers :  he  sees  his  way  clear  to  revenge  upon  Rome.  But  he 
has  reckoned  without  the  laws  of  human  nature.  The  past 
cannot  be  so  easily  set  aside,  and  his  past  is  bound  up  with 
Aufidius  and  Volumnia.  The  smouldering  envy  of  Aufidius 
I  is  reinforced  by  new  jealousy,  and  dogs  Coriolanus'  footsteps. 
And  this  prepares  us  for  the  catastrophe  of  the  fifth  act.  In 
the  great  third  scene  the  old  influence  of  Volumnia  resumes 

. (M415) 


INTRODUCTION. 

its  sway  over  her  son.  His  resolution  is  vanquished,  and  he 
returns  to  Corioles,  knowing  that  it  is  to  his  death.  It  could 
only  end  so.  Man  has  not  two  destinies;  and  the  chance 
once  thrown  away  is  not  offered  again. 


(M415) 


J-  tribunes  of  the  people. 


DRAMATIS   PERSONS 

Caius  Marcius,  afterwards  Caius  Marcius  CoRlOLANUS. 

Titus  Lartius,  ^  ,  ,     „  .    . 

_  J- generals  against  the  Volscians. 

COMINIUS,  J 

Menenius  Agrippa,  friend  to  Coriolanus. 

Sicinius  Velutus, 

Junius  Brutus, 

Young  Marcius,  son  to  Coriolanus. 

A  Roman  Herald. 

Tullus  Aufidius,  general  of  the  Volscians. 

Lieutenant  to  Aufidius. 

Conspirators  with  Aufidius. 

Nicanor,  a  Roman. 

Adrian,  a  Volscian. 

A  Citizen  of  Antium. 

Two  Volscian  Guards. 

Volumnia,  mother  to  Coriolanus. 
Virgilia,  wife  to  Coriolanus. 
Valeria,  friend  to  Virgilia. 
Gentlewoman,  attending  on  Virgilia. 

Roman  and  Volscian  Senators,  Patricians,  jEdiles,  Lictors,  Soldiers,  Citizens. 
Messengers,  Servants  to  Aufidius,  and  other  Attendants. 

Scene  :  Rome  and  the  neighbourhood;  Corioles  and  the  neighbourhood; 
Antium. 

Time:  Eleven  days,  with  intervals. 


CORIOLANUS. 


ACT  I. 

Scene  I.    Rome.    A  street. 

Enter  a  company  of  mutinous  Citizens,  with  staves ',  clubs, 
and  other  weapons. 

First  Cit.  Before  we  proceed  any  further,  hear  me  speak. 
;  All.  Speak,  speak. 

First  Cit.  You  are  all  resolved  rather  to  die  than  to  famish? 

All.  Resolved,  resolved. 

First  Cit.  First,  you  know  Caius  Marcius  is  chief  enemy  to 
the  people. 

All.  We  know't,  we  know't. 

First  Cit.  Let  us  kill  him,  and  we  '11  have  corn  at  our  own 
price.     I  s  't  a  verdict  ? 

All.  No  more  talking  on 't ;  let  it  be  done :  away,  away ! 

Sec.  Cit.  One  word,  good  citizens.  1 1 

First  Cit.  We  are  accounted  poor  citizens,  the  patricians 
good.  What  authority  surfeits  on  would  relieve  us :  if  they 
would  yield  us  but  the  superfluity,  while  it  were  wholesome,  we 
might  guess  they  relieved  us  humanely;  but  they  think  we 
are  too  dear :  [the  leanness  that  afflicts  us,  the  object  of  our 
misery-[is  as  an  inventory  to  particularize  their  abundance ; 
our  sufferance  is  a  gain  to  them.  Let  us  revenge  this  with 
our  pikes,  ere  we  become  rakes :  for  the  gods  know  I  speak 
this  in  hunger  for  bread,  not  in  thirst  for  revenge.  20 

Sec.  Cit.  Would  you  proceed  especially  against  Caius  Mar- 
cius? 

First  Cit.  Against  him  first:  he's  a  very  dog  to  the  com- 
monalty. 

Sec.  Cit.  Consider  you  what  services  he  has  done  for  his 
country? 

First  Cit.  Very  well ;  and  could  be  content  to  give  him 
good  report  for 't,  but  that  he  pays  himself  with  being  proud. 

Sec.  Cit.  Nay,  but  speak  not  maliciously.  29 

First  Cit.  I  say  unto  you,  what  he  hath  done  famously,  he 
did  it  to  that  end :  though  soft-conscienced  men  can  be  con- 
tent to  say  it  was  for  his  country,  he  did  it  to  please  his 


■J 


CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 


_  and  tobe  partly  proud;  which  he  is,  even  to  the 

Etude  of  his  virtue. 

Sec.  Cit.  What  he  cannot  help  in  his  nature,  you  account  a 
vice  in  him.     You  must  in  no  way  say  he  is  covetous. 

First  Cit.  If  I  must  not,  I  need  not  be  barren  of  accusa- 
tions; he  hath  faults,  with  surplus,  to  tire  in  repetition. 
[Shouts  within.']  What  shouts  are  these?  The  other  side 
o'  th'  city  is  risen :  why  stay  we  prating  here?  to  the  Capitol ! 

All.  Come,  come.  41 

First  Cit.  Soft!  who  comes  here? 

Enter  Menenius  Agrippa. 

Sec.  Cit.  Worthy  Menenius  Agrippa;  one  that  hath  always 
loved  the  people. 

First  Cit.  He's  one  honest  enough:  would  all  the  rest 
were  so! 

Men.  What  work's,  my  countrymen,  in  hand?  where  go  you 
With  bats  and  clubs?    The  matter?  speak,  I  pray  you. 

First  Cit.  Our  business  is  not  unknown  to  the  senate;  they 
have  had  inkling  this  fortnight  what  we  intend  to  do,  which 
now  we  '11  show  'em  in  deeds.  They  say  poor  suitors  have 
strong  breaths :  they  shall  know  we  have  strong  arms  too. 

Men.  Why,  masters,  my  good  friends,  mine  honest  neigh- 
bours, 54 
Will  you  undo  yourselves? 

First  Cit.  We  cannot,  sir,  we  are  undone  already. 

Men.  I  tell  you,  friends,  most  charitable  care 
Have  the  patricians  of  you.     For  your  wants, 
Your  suffering  in  this  dearth,  you  may  as  well 
Strike  at  the  heaven  with  your  staves  as  lift  them  60 

Against  the  Roman  state,  whose  course  will  on 
The  way  it  takes,  cracking  ten  thousand  curbs 
Of  more  strong  link  asunder  than  can  ever 
Appear  in  your  impediment.     For  the  dearth, 
The  gods,  not  the  patricians,  make  it,  and 
Your  knees  to  them,  not  arms,  must  help.    Alack, 
You  are  transported  by  calamity 
Thither  where  more  attends  you,  and  you  slander 
The  helms  o'  th'  state,  who  care  for  you  like  fathers, 
When  you  curse  them  as  enemies.  70 

First.  Cit.  Care  for  us !  True,  indeed !  They  ne'er  cared 
for  us  yet:  suffer  us  to  famish,  and  their  store-houses  crammed 
with  grain  ;  make  edicts  for  usury,  to  support  usurers;  repeal 
daily  any  wholesome  act  established  against  the  rich,  and 
provide  more  piercing  statutes  daily,  to  chain  up  and  restra'n 


Scene  I.]  CORIOLANUS.  3 

the  poor.     If  the  wars  eat  us  not  up,  they  will;  and  there 's  all 
the  love  they  bear  us. 

Men.  Either  you  must 
Confess  yourselves  wondrous  malicious, 
Or  be  accused  of  folly.     I  shall  tell  you  80 

A  pretty  tale :  it  may  be  you  have  heard  it ; 
But,  since  it  serves  my  purpose,  I  will  venture 
To  stale 't  a  little  more. 

First  Cit.  Well,  I  '11  hear  it,  sir :  yet  you  must  not  think  to 
fob  off  our  disgrace  with  a  tale:  but,  an't  please  you,  deliver. 

Men.  There  was  a  time  when  all  the  body's  members 
Rebelled  against  the  belly,  thus  accused  it : 
That  only  like  a  gulf  it  did  remain 
I'  th'  midst  o'  th'  body,  idle  and  unactrve, 
Sftill  cupboarding  the  viand,  never  bearing  90 

Like  labour  with  the  rest,  where  th'  other  instruments 
Did  see  and  hear,  devise,  instruct,  walk,  feel, 
And,  mutually  participate,  did  minister 
Unto  the  appetite  and  affection  common 
Of  the  whole  body.     The  belly  answer'd — 

First  Cit.  Well,  sir,  what  answer  made  the  belly? 

Men.  Sir,  I  shall  tell  you.     With  a  kind  of  smile, 
Which  ne'er  came  from  the  lungs,  but  even  thus — 
For,  look  you,  I  may  make  the  belly  smile 
As  well  as  speak — it  tauntingly  replied  100 

To  th'  discontented  members,  the  mutinous  parts 
That  envied  his  receipt ;  even  so  most  fitly 
As  you  malign  our  senators  for  that 
They  are  not  such  as  you. 

First  Cit.  Your  belly's  answer?    What ! 

The  kingly-crowned  head,  the  vigilant  eye, 
The  counsellor  heart,  the  arm  our  soldier, 
Our  steed  the  leg,  the  tongue  our  trumpeter, 
With  other  muniments  and  petty  helps 
In  this  our  fabric,  if  that  they — 

Men.  What  then? 

'Fore  me,  this  fellow  speaks !    What  then?  what  then?      no 

First  Cit.  Should  by  the  cormorant  belly  be  restrain'd, 
Who  is  the  sink  o'  th'  body, — 

Men.  Well,  what  then? 

First  Cit.  The  former  agents,  if  they  did  complain, 
What  could  the  belly  answer? 

Men.  I  will  tell  you ; 

If  you'll  bestow  a  small — of  what  you've  little — 
Patience  awhile,  you  'st  hear  the  belly's  answer. 


4  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I- 

First  Cit.  You  're  long  about  it. 

Men.  Note  me  this,  good  friend ; 

Your  most  grave  belly  was  deliberate, 
Not  rash  like  his  accusers,  and  thus  answer'd : 
'True  is  it,  my  incorporate  friends',  quoth  he,  120 

1  That  I  receive  the  general  food  at  first, 
Which  you  do  live  upon ;  and  fit  it  is, 
Because  I  am  the  store-house  and  the  shop 
Of  the  whole  body:  but,  if  you  do  remember, 
I  send  it  through  the  rivers  of  your  blood, 
Even  to  the  court,  the  heart,  to  th'  seat  o'  th'  brain; 
And,  through  the  cranks  and  offices  of  man, 
The  strongest  nerves  and  small  inferior  veins 
From  me  receive  that  natural  competency 
Whereby  they  live:  and  though  that  all  at  once', —  130 

You,  my  good  friends,  this  says  the  belly,  mark  me — 

First  Cit.  Ay,  sir;  well,  well 

Men.  '  Though  all  at  once  cannot 

See  what  I  do  deliver  out  to  each, 
Yet  I  can  make  my  audit  up,  that  all 
From  me  do  back  receive  the  flour  of  all, 
And  leave  me  but  the  bran'.     What  say  you  to't? 

First  Cit.  It  was  an  answer:  how  apply  you  this? 

Men.  The  senators  of  Rome  are  this  gocxLbelly, 
And  you  the  mutinous  members ;  for  examine 
Their  counsels  and  their  cares,  digest  things  rightly  140 

Touching  the  weal  o'  th'  common,^  you  shall  find 
No  public  benefit  which  you  receive 
But  it  proceeds  or  comes  from  them  to  you 
And  no  way  from  yourselves^    What  do  you  think, 
You,  the  great  toe  of  this  assembly? 

First  Cit.  I  the  great  toe !  why  the  great  toe? 

Men.  For  that,  being  one  o'  th'  lowest,  basest,  poorest, 
Of  this  most  wise  rebellion,  thou  go'st  foremost : 
Thou  rascal,  that  art  worst  in  blood  to  run, 
Lead'st  first  to  win  some  vantage.  150 

But  make  you  ready  your  stiff  bats  and  clubs: 
Rome  and  her  rats  are  at  the  point  of  battle ; 
The  one  side  must  have  bale. 

Enter  Caius  Marcius. 

Hail,  noble  Marcius ! 
Mar.  Thanks.  What 's  the  matter,  you  dissentious  rogues, 
That,  rubbing  the  poor  itch  of  your  opinion, 
Make  vourselves  scabs? 


Scene  x.]  CORIOLANUS.  5 

First  Cit.  We  've  ever  your  good  word. 

Mar.  He  that  will  ?ive  good  words  to  thee  will  flatter 
Beneath  abhorring.    *What  would  you  have,  you  curs, 
That  like  nor  peace  nor  war?|  the  one  affrights  you,  160 

The  other  makes  you  proud.     He  that  trusts  to  you, 
Where  he  should  find  you  lions,  finds  you  hares ; 
Where  foxes,  geese :  you  are  no  surer,  no, 
Than  is  the  coal  of  fire  upon  the  ice,  W)  Q> 

Or  hailstone  in  the  sun.     Your  virtue  is 
To  make  him  worthy  whose  offence  subdues  him 
And  curse  that  justice  did  it.    \ Who  deserves  greatness 
Deserves  your  hate^.and  your  affections  are 
A  sick  man's  appetite,  who  desires  most  that 
Which  would  increase  his  evil.     He,  that  depends  170 

Upon  your  favours  swims  with  fins  of  lead 
And  hews  down  oaks  with  rushes.     Hang  ye !     Trust  ye? 
With  every  minute  you  do  change  a  mind, 
And  call  him  noble  that  was  now  your  hate, 
Him  vild  that  was  your  garland.     What's  the  matter, 
That  in  these  several  places  of  the  city 
You  cry  against  the  noble  senate,  who, 
Under  the  gods,  keep  you  in  awe,  which  else 
Would  feed  on  one  another?    What's  their  seeking? 

Men.  For  corn  at  their  own  rates;  whereof,  they  say,     180 
The  city  is  well  stored. 

Mar.  Hang  'em !    They  say ! 

They  '11  sit  by  th'  fire,  and  presume  to  know 
What's  done  i'  th;  Capitol;  who's  like  to  rise, 
Who  thrives  and  who  declines;  side  factions  and  give  out 
Conjectural  marriages;  making  parties  strong 
And  feebling  such  as  stand  not  in  their  liking 
Below  their  cobbled  shoes.    They  say  there 's  grain  enough ! 
Would  the  nobility  lay  aside  their  ruth, 
And  let  me  use  my  sword,  I  'Id  make  a  quarry 
With  thousands  of  these  quarter'd  slaves,  as  high  190 

As  I  could  pick  my  lance. 

Men.  Nay,  these  are  almost  thoroughly  persuaded; 
For  though  abundantly  they  lack  discretion, 
Yet  are  they  passing  cowardly.     But,  I  beseech  you, 
What  says  the  other  troop? 

Mar.  They  are  dissolved:  hang  'em! 

They  said  they  were  an-hungry;  sigh'd  forth  proverbs, 
That  hunger  broke  stone  walls,  that  dogs  must  eat, 
That  meat  was  made  for  mouths,  that  the  gods  sent  not 
Corn  for  the  rich  men  only:  with  these  shreds 


6  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

They  vented  their  complainings;  which  being  answer'd, 
And  a  petition  granted  them,  a  strange  one —  201 

To  break  the  heart  of  generosity, 
And  make  bold  power  look  pale — they  threw  their  caps 
As  they  would  hang  them  on  the  horns  o'  th'  moon, 
Shouting  their  emulation. 

Men.  What  is  granted  them? 

Mar.  Five  tribunes  to  defend  their  vulgar  wisdoms, 
Of  their  own  choice:  one's  Junius  Brutus, 
Sicinius  Velutus,  and  I  know  not — 'Sdeath ! 
The  rabble  should  have  first  unroof 'd  the  city, 
Ere  so  prevail'd  with  me:  it  will  in  time  210 

Win  upon  power  and  throw  forth  greater  themes 
For  insurrection's  arguing. 

Men.  This  is  strange. 

Mar.  Go,  get  you  home,  you  fragments ! 

Enter  a  Messenger,  hastily. 
Mess.  Where's  Caius  Marcius? 

Mar.  Here:  what's  the  matter? 

Mess.  The  news  is,  sir,  the  Volscesare  in  arms. 
Mar.  I  'm  glad  on't:  then  we  shall  ha'  means  to  vent 
Our  musty  superfluity.     See,  our  best  elders. 

Enter  Cominius,  Titus  Lartius,  and  other  Senators; 
Junius  Brutus  and  Sicinius  Velutus. 

First  Sen.  Marcius,  't  is  true  that  you  have  lately  told  us; 
The  Volsces  are  in  arms. 

Mar.  They  have  a  leader, 

Tullus  Aufidius,  that  will  put  you  to  't.  220 

I  sin  in  envying  his  nobility, 
And  were  I  any  thing  but  what  I  am, 
I  'Id  wish  me  only  he.  , 

Com.  You've  fought  together. 

Mar.  Were  half  to  half  the  world  by  th'  ears  and  he 
Upon  my  party,  I  'Id  revojt,  to  make 
Only  my  wars  with  him:Uie  is  a  lion 
That  I  am  proud  to  hunjj 

First  Sen.  Then,  worthy  Marcius, 

Attend  upon  Cominius  to  these  wars. 

Com.  It  is  your  former  promise. 

Mar.  Sir,  it  is; 

And  I  am  constant     Titus  Lartius,  thou   •  23° 

Shalt  see  me  once  more  strike  at  Tullus'  face. 
What,  art  thou  stiff?  stand'st  out? 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  7 

Tit.  No,  Caius  Marcius; 

I  '11  lean  upon  one  crutch  and  fight  with  t'  other, 
Ere  stay  behind  this  business. 

Men.  O,  true-bred ! 

First  Sen.  Your  company  to  th'  Capitol;  where,  I  know, 
Our  greatest  friends  attend  us. 

Tit.  [To  Com."]  Lead  you  on. 

[To  Mar."]  Follow  Cominius;  we  must  follow  you;* 
Right  worthy  you  priority.  V  J 

Com.  Noble  Marcius ! 

First  Sen.  [To  the  Citizens]  Hence  to  your  homes;  be  gone. 

Mar.  Nay,  let  them  follow: 

The  Volsces  have  much  corn;  take  these  rats  thither  "     240 
.  To  gnaw  their  garners.     Worshipful  mutiners, 
Your  valour  puts  well  forth:  pray,  follow. 

[Citizens  steal  away.    Exeunt  all  but 
Sicinius  and  Brutus* 

Sic.  Was  ever  man  so  Drojjd  as  is  this  Marcius? 

Bru.  He  has  no  equal. 

Sic.  When  we  were  chosen  tribunes  for  the  people, — 

Bru.  Mark'd  you  his  lip  and  eyes? 

Sic.  Nay,  but  his  taunts. 

Bru.  Being  moved,  he  will  not  spare  to  gird  the  gods. 

Sic.  Be-mock  the  modest  moon.       -, 

Bru.  The  present  wars  devour  him:  he  is  grown 
Too  proud  to  be  so  valiant^ 

Sic.  Such  a  nature,  250 

Tickled  with  good  success,  disdains  the  shadow 
Which  he  treads  on  at  noon:  but  I  do  wonder 
His  insolence  can  brook  to  be  commanded 
Under  Cominius. 

Bru.  Fame,  at  the  which  he  aims, 

In  whom  already  he's  well  graced,  can  not 
Better  be  held  nor  more  attain'd  than  by 
A  place  below  the  first:  for  what  miscarries 
Shall  be  the  general's  fault,  though  he  perform 
To  th'  utmost  of  a  man,  and  giddy  censure 
Will  then  cry  out  of  Marcius  ■  O,  if  he  260 

Had  borne  the  business !' 

Sic.  Besides,  if  things  go  well, 

Opinion  that  so  sticks  on  Marcius  shall 
Of  his  demerits  rob  Cominius. 
j     Bru.  Come: 

Half  ail  Cominius'  honours  are  to  MarciusA 
Though  Marcius  earn'd  them  not,  and  all  his  faults 


8  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

To  Marcius  shall  be  honours,  though  indeed 
In  aught  he  merit  not. 

Sic.  Let 's  hence,  and  hear 

How  the  dispatch  is  made,  and  in  what  fashion, 
More  than  his  singularity,  he  goes 
Upon  this  present  action. 

Bru.  Let 's  along.  {Exeunt.    270 

SCENE  II.     Corioles.     The  Senate-house. 
Enter  Tullus  Aufidius  with  Senators  0/"  Corioles. 

First  Sen.  So,  your  opinion  is,  Aufidius, 
That  they  of  Rome  are  enter'd  in  our  counsels 
And  know  how  we  proceed. 

Auf.  Is  it  not  yours? 

What  ever  have  been  thought  on  in  this  state, 
That  could  be  brought  to  bodily  act  ere  Rome 
Had  circumvention?    'T  is  not  four  days  gone 
Since  I  heard  thence;  these  are  the  words:  I  think 
I  have  the  letter  here;  yes,  here  it  is. 
[Reads]  *  They  've  press'd  a  power,  but  it  is  not  known 
Whether  for  east  or  west:  the  dearth  is  great;  10 

The  people  mutinous;  and  it  is  rumour'd, 
Cominius,  Marcius  your  old  enemy, 
Who  is  of  Rome  worse  hated  than  of  you, 
And  Titus  Lartius,  a  most  valiant  Roman, 
These  three  lead  on  this  preparation 
Whither  't  is  bent:  most  likely  't  is  for  you: 
Consider  of  it. 

First  Sen.      Our  army's  in  the  field: 
We  never  yet  made  doubt  but  Rome  was  ready 
To  answer  us. 

Auf.  Nor  did  you  think  it  folly 

To  keep  your  great  pretences  veil'd  till  when  20 

They  needs  must  show  themselves;  which  in  the  hatching, 
It  seem'd,  appear'd  to  Rome.     By  the  discovery 
We  shall  be  shorten'd  in  our  aim,  which  was 
To  take  in  many  towns  ere  almost  Rome 
Should  know  we  were  afoot. 

Sec.  Sen.  Noble  Aufidius, 

Take  your  commission;  hie  you  to  your  bands: 
Let  us  alone  to  guard  Corioles : 
If  they  set  down  before 's,  for  the  remove 
Bring  up  your  army;  but,  I  think,  you'll  find 
They  've  not  prepared  for  us. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS. 

Auf.  O,  doubt  not  that,- 

I  speak  from  certainties.     Nay,  more, 
Some  parcels  of  their  power  are  forth  already, 
And  only  hitherward.     I  leave  your  honours, 
rif  we  and  Caius  Marcius  chance  to  meet, 
'T  is  sworn  between  us  we  shall  ever  strike 
Till  one  can  do  no  morgj 

All.  The  gods  assist  you ! 

Auf.  And  keep  your  honours  safe ! 

First  Sen.  Farewell. 

Sec.  Sen.  Farewell. 

All.  Farewell.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  III.    Rome.    A  room  in  Marcius^  house. 

Enter  Volumnia  and  Virgilia:  they  set  them  down  on 
two  low  stools ',  and  sew. 

Vol.  I  pray  you,  daughter,  sing ;  or  express  yourself  in  a 
more  comfortable  sort:  if  my  son  were  my  husband,  4  should 
freelier  rejoice  in  that  absence  wherein  he  won  honour  than  in 
the  embracements  of  his  bed  where  he  would  show  most  lovej 
When  yet  he  was  but  tender-bodied  and  the  only  son  of  my 
womb,  when  youth  with  comeliness  plucked  all  gaze  his  way, 
when  for  a  day  of  kings'  entreaties  a  mother  should  not  sell 
him  an  hour  from  her  beholding,  I,  considering  how  honour  ct. 
would  become  such  a  person,  that  it  was  no  better  than  picture^  ' 
like  to  hang  by  the  wall,  if  renown  made  it  not  stir,  was  pleased 
to  let  him  seek  danger  where  he  was  like  to  find  fame.  *Tq  a  // 
cruel  war  I  sent  him;  from  whence  he  returned,  his  brows 
bound  with  oakj    I  tell  thee,  daughter,  I  sprang  not  more 
in  joy  at  first  hearing  he  was  a  man-child  than  now  in  first 
seeing  he  had  proved  himself  a  man.  15 

Vir.  But  had  he  died  in  the  business,  madam;  how  then? 

Vol.  Then  his  good  reoort  should  hav^jjeen^cj^-eon ;  I 
therein  would  have  found  issue.  Hear  me  profess  sincerely: 
had  I  a  dozen  sons,  each  in  my  love  alike  and  none  less  dear 
than  thine  and  my  good  Marcius,  I  had  rather  had  eleven  die 
nobly  for  their  country  than  one  voluptuously  surfeit  out  of 
action.  22 

Enter  a  Gentlewoman. 

Gent.  Madam,  the  Lady  Valeria  is  come  to  visit  you. 
Vir.  Beseech  you,  give  me  leave  to  retire  myself. 
Vol.  Indeed,  you  shall  not. 
Methinks  I  hear  hither  your  husband's  drum; 


io  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

See  him  pluck  Aufidius  down  by  the  hair; 

As  children  from  a  bear,  the  Volsces  shunning  him: 

Methinks  I  see  him  stamp  thus,  and  call  thus: 

*  Come  on,  you  cowards !  you  were  got  in  fear,  30 

Though  you  were  born  in  Rome':  his  bloody  brow 

With  his  mail'd  hand  then  wiping,  forth  he  goes, 

Like  to  a  harvest-man  that 's  task'd  to  mow 

Or  all  or  lose  his  hire. 

Vir.  His  bloody  brow !     O  Jupiter,  no  blood! 

Vol.  Away,  you  fool !  it  more  becomes  a  man 
Than  gilt  his  trophy:  the  breasts  of  Hecuba, 
When  she  did  suckle  Hector,  look'd  not  lovelier 
Than  Hector's  forehead  when  it  spit  forth  blood 
At  Grecian  sword,  contemning.    Tell  Valeria,  40 

We  're  fit  to  bid  her  welcome.  {Exit  Gent. 

Vir.  Heavens  bless  my  lord  from  fell  Aufidius ! 

Vol.  He  '11  beat  Aufidius'  head  below  his  knee 
And  tread  upon  his  neck. 

Enter  Valeria,  with  an  Usher  and  Gentlewoman. 

Val.  My  ladies  both,  good  day  to  you. 

Vol.  Sweet  madam. 

Vir. .  I  am  glad  to  see  your  ladyship. 

Val.  How  do  you  both?  you  are  manifest  house-keepers. 
What  are  you  sewing  here?  A  fine  spot,  in  good  faith.  How 
does  your  little  son?  50 

Vir.  I  thank  your  ladyship ;  well,  good  madam. 

Vol.  He  had  rather  see  the  swords,  and  hear  a  drum,  than 
look  upon  his  schoolmaster. 

Val.  O'  my  word,  the  father's  son:  I'll  swear,  'tis  a  very 
pretty  boy.  O'  my  troth,  I  looked  upon  him  a'  Wednesday 
half  an  hour  together:  'has  such  a  confirmed  countenance. 
»  I  saw  him  run  after  a  gilded  butterfly;  and  when  he  caught 
it,  he  let  it  go  agaipLi/and  after  it  again;  and  over  and  over 
he  comes,  and  up  again;  catched  it  again;  or  whether  his  fall 
enraged  him,  or  how  't  was,  he  did  so  set  his  teeth  and  tear 
it;  O,  I  warrant,  how  he  mammocked  it!  61 

Vol.  One  on 's  father's  moods. 

Val.  Indeed,  la,  't  is  a  noble  child. 

Vir.  A  crack,  madam. 

Val.  Come,  lay  aside  your  stitchery;  I  must  have  you  play 
the  idle  huswife  with  me  this  afternoon. 

Vir.  No,  good  madam ;  I  will  not  out  of  doors. 

Val.  Not  out  of  doors ! 

Vol.  She  shall,  she  shall. 


Scene*]  CORIOLANUS.  u 

Vir.  Indeed,  no,  by  your  patience;'  I  '11  not  over  the  thresh- 
old till  my  lord  return  from  the  warsj  7* 

Val.  Fie,  you  confine  yourself  most  unreasonably:  come, 
you  must  go  visit  the  good  lady  that  lies  in. 

Vir.  I  will  wish  her  speedy  strength,  and  visit  her  with  my 
prayers ;  but  I  cannot  go  thither. 

Vol.  Why,  I  pray  you? 

Vir.  'T  is  not  to  save  labour,  nor  that  I  want  love. 

Val.  You  would  be  another  Penelope:  yet,  they  say,  all  the 
yarn  she  spun  in  Ulysses'  absence  did  but  fill  Ithaca  full  of 
moths.  Come ;  I  would  your  cambric  were  sensible  as  your 
finger,  that  you  might  leave  pricking  it  for  pity.  Come,  you 
shall  go  with  us.  82 

Vir.  No,  good  madam,  pardon  me;  indeed,  I  will  not  forth. 
,  Val.  In  truth,  la,  go  with  me ;  and  I  '11  tell  you  excellent 
news  of  your  husband. 

Vir.  O,  good  madam,  there  can  be  none  yet. 

Val.  Verily,  I  do  not  jest  with  you ;  there  came  news  from 
him  last  night. 

Vir.  Indeed,  madam?  89 

Val.  In  earnest,  it 's  true;  I  heard  a  senator  speak  it.  Thus 
it  is:  the  Volsces  Jiave  an  army  forth;  against  whom  Comi- 
nius  the  general  is  gone,  with  one  part  of  our  Roman  power: 
your  lord  and  Titus  Lartius  are  set  down  before  their  city 
Corioles;they  nothing  doubt  prevailing  and  to  make  it  brief 
wars.  This  is  true,  on  mine  honour;  and  so,  I  pray,  go 
with  us. 

Vir.  Give  me  excuse,  good  madam;  I  will  obey  you  in 
everything  hereafter. 

Vol.  Let  her  alone,  lady:  as  she  is  now,  she  will  but  disease 
our  better  mirth.  100 

Val.  In  troth,  I  think  she  would.  Fare  you  well,  then. 
Come,  good  sweet  lady.  Prithee,  Virgilia,  turn  thy  solemness 
out  a'  door,  and  go  along  with  us. 

Vir.  No,  at  a  word,  madam  ;  indeed,  I  must  not.  I  wish 
you  much  mirth. 

Val.  Well,  then,  farewell.  {Exeunt. 

Scene  IV.    Before  C orioles. 

Enter  with  drum  and  colours •,  Marcius,  Titus  Lartius, 
Captains  and  Soldiers.     To  them  a  Messenger. 

Mar.  Yonder  comes  news.     A  wager  they  have  met. 
Lart.  My  horse  to  yours,  no. 


12  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Mar.  'T  is  done. 

Lart.  Agreed. 

Mar.  Say,  has  our  general  met  the  enemy? 

Mess.  They  lie  in  view ;  but  have  not  spoke  as  yet. 

Lart.  So,  the  good  horse  is  mine. 

Mar.    "  I  '11  buy  him  of  you. 

Lart.  No,  I'll  nor  sell  nor  give  him:  lend  you  him  I  will 
For  half  a  hundred  years.     Summon  the  town. 

Mar.  How  far  off  lie  these  armies? 

Mess.  Within  this  mile  and  half. 

Mar.  Then  shall  we  hear  their  'larum,  and  they  ours. 
Now,  Mars,  I  prithee,  make  us  quick  in  work,  10 

That  we  with  smoking  swords  may  march  from  hence, 
To  help  our  fielded  friends !     Come,  blow  thy  blast. 

They  sound  a  parley.    Enter  two  Senators  with  others  on  the 
walls. 

Tullus  Aufidius,  is  he  within  your  walls? 

First  Sen.  No,  nor  a  man  that  fears  you  less  than  he, 
That's  lesser  than  a  little.     {Drums  afar  off]     Hark!  our 

drums 
Are  bringing  forth  our  youth.     We  '11  break  our  walls, 
Rather  than  they  shall  pound  us  up:  our  gates, 
Which  yet  seem  shut,  we  have  but  pinn'd  with  rushes; 
They'll  open  of  themselves.     [Alarum  afar  off]    Hark  you, 

far  off! 
There  is  Aufidius ;  list,  what  work  he  makes  20 

Amongst  your  cloven  army. 

Mar.  O,  they  are  at  it ! 

Lart.  Their  noise  be  our  instruction.     Ladders,  ho! 

Enter  the  army  of  the  Volsces. 

I»  Mar.  They  fear  us  not,  but  issue  forth  their  city. 

'  Now  put  your  shields  before  your  hearts,  and  fight 
With  hearts  more  proof  than  shields^   Advance,  brave  Titus: 
They  do  disdain  us  much  beyond  our  thoughts, 
Which  makes  me  sweat  with  wrath.     Come  on,  my  fellows: 
He  that  retires,  I  '11  take  him  for  a  Volsce, 
And  he  shall  feel  mine  edge. 

Alarum.     The  Romans  are  beat  back  to  their  trenches.    Re- 
enter Marcius,  cursing. 

Mar.  All  the  contagion  of  the  south  light  on  you,  30 

You  shames  of  Rome !  you  herd  of — Boils  and  plagues 


Scene  4.]  CORIOLANUS.  13 

Plaster  you  o'er,  that  you  may  be  abhorr'd 

Further  than  seen  and  one  infect  another 

Against  the  wind  a  mile !     You  souls  of  geese, 

That  bear  the  shapes  of  men,  how  have  you  run 

From  slaves  that  ayes  ^nlH  K»at  1     Pinln  anrl  hell! 

All  hurt  behind;  backs  red,  and  faces  pale 

With  flight  and  agued  fear !     Mend  and  charge  home, 

Or,  by  the  fires  of  heaven,  I  '11  leave  the  foe 

And  make  my  wars  on  you:  look  to't:  come  on;  40 

If  you  '11  stand  fast,  we  '11  beat  them  to  their  wives, 

As  they  's  t'  our  trenches  followed. 

Another  alarum.      The  Volsces  fly,  and  MARCIUS  follows 
them  to  the  gates. 

So,  now  the  gates  are  ope:  now  prove  good  seconds: 
'T  is  for  the  followers  fortune  widens  them, 
Not  for  the  fliers:  mark  me,  and  do  the  like. 

{Enters  the  gates. 
First  Sol.  Fool-hardiness;  not  I. 
Sec.  Sol.  Nor  I. 

{Marcius  is  shut  in. 
First  Sol     See,  they  have  shut  him  in. 
All.  To  th'  pot,  I  warrant  him. 

[Alarum  continues. 

Re-enter  Titus  Lartius. 

Lart.  What  is  become  of  Marcius? 

All.  Slain,  sir,  doubtless. 

First  Sol.  Following  the  fliers  at  the  very  heels, 
With  them  he  enters;  who,  upon  the  sudden,  50 

Clapp'd  to  their  gates:  he  is  himself  alone. 
To  answer  all  the  city.  ' 

Lart.  O  noble  fellow! 

Who  sensibly  outdares  his  senseless  sword, 
And,  when  it  bows,  stands  up.     Thou  art  left,  Marcius: 
A  carbuncle  entire,  as  big  as  thou  art, 
Were  not  so  rich  a  jewel.     Thou  wast  a  soldier 
Even  to  Cato's  wish,  not  fierce  and  terrible 
Only  in  strokes;  but,  with  thy  grim  looks  and 
The  thunder-like  percussion  of  thy  sounds, 
Thou  madest  thine  enemies  shake,  as  if  the  world  60 

Were  feverous  and  did  tremble. 


14  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Re-enter  Marcius,  bleedings  assaulted  by  the  enemy. 

First  Sol.  Look,  sir. 

Lart.  O,  't  is  Marcius! 

Let 's  fetch  him  off,  or  make  remain  alike. 

[They  fight,  and  all  enter  the  city. 

Scene  V.    Corioles.    A  street. 

Enter  certain  Romans,  with  spoils. 

First  Rom.  This  will  I  carry  to  Rome. 

Sec.  Rom.  And  I  this. 

Third  Rom.  A  murrain  on  't!     I  took  this  for  silver. 

[Alarum  continues  still  afar  off. 

Enter  Marcius  and  Titus  Lartius  with  a  trumpet. 

Mar.  See  here  these  movers  that  do  prize  their  hours 
At  a  crack'd  drachme!     Cushions,  leaden  spoons, 
Irons  of  a  doit,  doublets  that  hangmen  would 
Bury  with  those  that  wore  them,  these  base  slaves, 
Ere  yet  the  fight  be  done,  pack  up:  down  with  them! 
And  hark,  what  noise  the  general  makes!     To  him! 
There  is  the  man  of  my  soul's  hate,  Aufidius,  io 

Piercing  our  Romans:  then,  valiant  Titus,  take 
Convenient  numbers  to  make  good  the  city; 
Whilst  I,  with  those  that  have  the  spirit,  will  haste 
To  help  Cominius. 

Lart.  Worthy  sir,fthou  bleed'st; 

Thy  exercise  hath  been  too  violent 
For  a  second  course  of  fightj 

Mar.  Sir,  praise  me  not; 

My  work  hath  yet  not  warm'd  me:  fare  you  well: 
The  blood  I  drop  is  rather  physical 
Than  dangerous  to  me:  to  Aufidius  thus 
I  will  appear,  and  fight. 

Lart.  Now  the  fair  goddess,  Fortune,      20 

FaTTdeep  in  love  with  thee;  and  her  great  charms 
Misguide  thy  opposers'  swords !  Bold  gentleman, 
Prosperity  be  thy  page ! 

Mar.  Thy  friend  no  less 

Than  those  she  placeth  highest !     So,  farewell. 

Lart.  Thou  worthiest  Marcius!  [Exit  Marcius. 

Go  sound  thy  trumpet  in  the  market-place; 
Call  thither  all  the  officers  o'  th'  town, 
Where  they  shall  know  our  mind:  away!  [Exeunt. 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  15 

Scene  VI.    Near  the  camp  of  Cominius. 

Enter  Cominius,  as  it  were  in  retire,  with  soldiers. 

Com.  Breathe  you,  my  friends:  well  fought;  we  are  come 
off 
Like  Romans,  neither  foolish  in  our  stands, 
Nor  cowardly  in  retire:  believe  me,  sirs, 
We  shall  be  charged  again.     Whiles  we  have  struck, 
By  interims  and  conveying  gusts  we  've  heard 
The  charges  of  our  friends.     Ye  Roman  gods! 
Lead  their  successes  as  we  wish  our  own, 
That  both  our  powers,  with  smiling  fronts  encountering, 
May  give  you  thankful  sacrifice. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Thy  news? 

Mess.  The  citizens  of  Corioles  have  issued,  10 

And  given  to  Lartius  and  to  Marcius  battle: 
I  saw  our  party  to  their  trenches  driven, 
And  then  I  came  away. 

Com.  Though  thou  speak'st  truth, 

Methinks  thou  speak'st  not  well.     How  long  is't  since? 

Mess.  Above  an  hour,  my  lord. 

Com.  'T  is  not  a  mile;  briefly  we  heard  their  drums: 
How  couldst  thou  in  a  mile  confound  an  hour, 
And  bring  thy  news  so  late? 

Mess.  Spies  of  the  Volsces 

Held  me  in  chase,  that  I  was  forced  to  wheel 
Three  or  four  miles  about,  else  had  I,  sir,  20 

Half  an  hour  since  brought  my  report. 

Com.  Who 's  yonder, 

That  does  appear  as  he  were  flay'd?    O  gods! 
He  has  the  stamp  of  Marcius ;  and  I  have 
Before-time  seen  him  thus. 

Mar.  [Within]  Come  I  too  late? 

Com.  The  shepherd  knows  not  thunder  from  a  tabor 
More  than  I  know  the  sound  of  Marcius'  tongue 
From  every  meaner  man. 

Enter  Marcius. 
Mar.  Come  I  too  late? 

Com.  Ay,  if  you  come  not  in  the  blood  of  others, 
But  mantled  in  your  own. 
Mar  O,  let  me  clip  ye 

(II  415)  C 


16  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

In  arms  as  sound  as  when  I  woo'd,  in  heart  30 

As  merry  as  when  our  nuptial  day  was  done, 
And  tapers  burn'd  to  bedward ! 

Com.  Flower  of  warriors, 

How  is't  with  Titus  Lartius? 

Mar.  As  with  a  man  busied  about  decrees : 
Condemning  some  to  death,  and  some  to  exile; 
—Ransoming  him,  or  pitying,  threatening  th'  other; 
vHolding  Corioles  in  the  name  of  Rom§J 
Even  like  a  fawning  greyhound  in  the  leash, 
To  let  him  slip  at  will. 

Com.  Where  is  that  slave 

Which  told  me  they  had  beat  you  to  your  trenches?  40 

Where  is  he?  call  him  hither. 

Mar.  Let  him  alone; 

He  did  inform  the  truth:  but  for  our  gentlemen, 
The  common  file — a  plague !  tribunes  for  them ! — 
The  mouse  ne'er  shunn'd  the  cat  as  they  did  budge 
From  rascals  worse  than  they. 

Com.  But  how  prevail'd  you? 

Mar.  Will  the  time  serve  to  tell?     I  do  not  think. 
Where  is  the  enemy?  are  you  lords  o'  th'  field? 
If  not,  why  cease  you  till  you  are  so? 

Com.  Marcius, 

We  have  at  disadvantage  fought  and  did 
Retire  to  win  our  purpose.  50 

Mar.  How  lies  their  battle?  know  you  on  which  side 
They've  placed  their  men  of  trust? 

Com.  As  I  guess,  Marcius, 

Their  bands  i'  th'  vaward  are  the  Antiates, 
Of  their  best  trust;  o'er  them  Aufidius, 
Their  very  heart  of  hope. 

Mar.  I  do  beseech  you, 

By  all  the  battles  wherein  we  have  fought, 
By  th'  blood  we  've  shed  together,  by  the  vows 
We  Ve  made  to  endure  friends,  that  you  directly 
Set  me  against  Aufidius  and  his  Antiates; 
And  that  you  not  delay  the  present,  but,  60 

Filling  the  air  with  swords  advanced  and  darts, 
We  prove  this  very  hour. 

Com.  Though  I  could  wish 

You  were  conducted  to  a  gentle  bath 
And  balms  applied  to  you,  yet  dare  I  never 
Deny  your  asking :  take  your  choice  of  those 
That  best  can  aid  your  action. 


Scene  8.]  CORIOLANUS.  17 

Mar.  Those  are  they 

That  most  are  willing.     If  any  such  be  here — 
As  it  were  sin  to  doubt — that  love  this  painting 
Wherein  you  see  me  smearM ;  if  any  fear 
Lesser  his  person  than  an  ill  report ;  70 

If  any  think  brave  death  outweighs  bad  life 
And  that  his  country's  dearer  than  himself; 
Let  him  alone,  or  so  many  so  minded, 
Wave  thus,  t'  express  his  disposition, 
And  follow  Marcius. 

[They  all  shout  and  wave  their  swords,  take  him 
up  in  their  arms,  and  cast  up  their  caps. 
O,  me  alone !  make  you  a  sword  of  me? 
If  these  shows  be  not  outward,  which  of  you 
But  is  four  Volsces?  none  of  you  but  is 
Able  to  bear  against  the  great  Aufidius 

A  shield  as  hard  as  his.     A  certain  number,  80 

Though  thanks  to  all,  must  I  select  from  all :  the  rest 
Shall  bear  the  business  in  some  other  fight, 
As  cause  will  be  obey'd.     Please  you  to  march ; 
And  four  shall  quickly  draw  out  my  command, 
Which  men  are  best  inclined. 

Com.  March  on,  my  fellows : 

Make  good  this  ostentation,  and  you  shall 
Divide  in  all  with  us.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  VII.     The  gates  of  Corioles. 

TlTUS  Lartius,  having  set  a  guard  upon  Corioles,  going  with 
drum  and  trumpet  toward  COMINIUS  and  Caivs  MARCIUS, 
enters  with  a  Lieutenant,  other  Soldiers,  and  a  Scout. 

Lart.  So,  let  the  ports  be  guarded :  keep  your  duties, 
As  I  have  set  them  down.     If  I  do  send,  dispatch 
Those  centuries  to  our  aid ;  the  rest  will  serve 
For  a  short  holding  :Mf  we  lose  the  field, 
We  cannot  keep  the  town^ 

Lieu.  Fear  not  our  care,  sir. 

Lart.  Hence,  and  shut  your  gates  upon 's. 
Our  guider,  come;  to  th'  Roman  camp  conduct  us.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  VIII.    A  field  of  battle. 

Alarum  as  in  battle.    Enter,  from  opposite  sides,  MARCIUS 

and  Aufidius. 
Mar.  I  '11  fight  with  none  but  thee;  for  I  do  hate  thee 
Worse  than  a  promise-breaker. 


18  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Auf.  We  hate  alike: 

Not  Afric  owns  a,  serpent  I  abhor 
More  than  thy  fameand  envy.     Fix  thy  foot. 

Mar.  Let  the  first  budger  die  the  other's  slave, 
And  the  gods  doom  him  after! 

Auf.  If  I  fly,  Marcius, 

Holloa  me  like  a  hare. 

Mar.  Within  these  three  hours,  Tullus, 

Alone  I  fought  in  your  Corioles  walls, 
And  made  what  work  I  pleased :  't  is  not  my  blood 
Wherein  thou  seest  me  mask'd ;  for  thy  revenge  10 

Wrench  up  thy  power  to  th'  highest. 

Auf.  Wert  thou  the  Hector 

That  was  the  whip  of  your  bragg'd  progeny, 
Thou  shouldst  not  scape  me  here. 

[They  fight,  and  certain  Volsces  come  in  the  aid  of 
Aufidius.    Marcius  fights  till  they  be  driven  in 
breathless. 
Officious,  and  not  valiant,  you  have  shamed  me 
In  your  condemned  seconds.  {Exeunt. 

Scene  IX.     The  Roman  camp. 

Flourish.  Alarum.  A  retreat  is  sounded.  Flourish.  Enter ; 
from  one  side,  Cominius  with  the  Romans;  from  the  other 
side,  Marcius,  with  his  amn  in  a  scarf. 

Com.  If  I  should  tell  thee  o'er  this  thy  day's  work, 
Thou 'It  not  believe  thy  deeds:  but  I  '11  report  it 
Where  senators  shall  mingle  tears  with  smiles, 
Where  great  patricians  shall  attend  and  shrug, 
V  th'  end  admire,  where  ladies  shall  be  frighted, 
And,  gladly  quaked,  hear  more;  where  the  dull  tribunes, 
That,  with  the  fusty  plebeians,  hate  thine  honours, 
Shall  say  against  their  hearts  *  We  thank  the  gods 
Our  Rome  hath  such  a  soldier'.i 

Yet  earnest  thou  to  a  morsel  of  this  feast,  10 

Having  fully  dined  before. 

Enter  Titus  Lartius,  with  his  power,  from  the  pursuit. 

Lar*.  O  general, 

Here  is  the  steed,  we  the  caparison : 
Hadst  thou,  beheld —  « 

Mar.  Pray  now,  no  more:'  my  mother, 

Who  has  a  charter  to  extol  her  blood, 


Scene  9.]  CORIOLANUS.  19 

When  she  does  praise  me  grieves  nie.i  I  have  done 
As  you  have  done;  that's  what  I  carry  induced 
As  you  have  been;  that's  for  my  country: 
He  that  has  but  effected  his  good  will 
Hath  overta'en  mine  act. 

Com.  You  shall  not  be 

The  grave  of  your  deserving;  Rome  must  know  20 

The  value  of  her  own :  't  were  a  concealment 
Worse  than  a  theft,  no  less  than  a  traducement, 
To  hide  your  doings,  and  to  silence  that, 
Which,  to  the  spire  and  top  of  praises  vouch'd, 
Would  seem  but  modest :  therefore,  I  beseech  you — 
In  sign  of  what  you  are,  not  to  reward 
What  you  have  done — before  our  army  hear  me. 
'    Mar.  I  have  some  wounds  upon  me,  and  they,  smart 
To  hear  themselves  remember'd. 

Com.  Should  they  not, 

Well  might  they  fester  'gainst  ingratitude,  30 

And  tent  themselves  with  death.     Of  all  the  horses, 
Whereof  we  've  ta'en  good  and  good  store,  of  all 
The  treasure  in  this  field  achieved  and  city, 
We  render  you  the  tenth,  to  be  ta'en  forth, 
Before  the  common^distribution,  at 
Your  only  choice. 

Mar.  I  thank  you,  general ; 

Butlcannot  make  my  heart  consent  to  take 
A  bribe  to  pay  my  swordjjl  do  refuse  it; 
And  stand  upon  my  common  part  with  those 
That  have  beheld  the  doing.  40 

[A  long  flourish.  They  all  cry  'Marcius!  Marcius!' 
cast  up  their  caps  and  lances:  Cominius  and  Lartius 
stand  bare. 

Mar.  May  these  same  instruments,  which  you  profane, 
Never  sound  more !  when  drums  and  trumpets  shall 
V  th'  field  prove  flatterers,  let  courts  and  cities  be 
Made  all  of  false-faced  soothing!    When  steel  grows 
Soft  as  the  parasite's  silk,  let  him  be  made 
A  coverture  for  th'  wars  no  more,  I  say! 
For  that  I  have  not  washed  my  nose  that  bled 
Or  foil'd  some  debile  wretch,  which,  without  note 
Here 's  many  else  have  done,  you  shout  me  forth 
In  acclamations  hyperbolical;  v>        50 

As  if  I  loved  my  little  should  be  dieted 
In  praises  sauced  with  lies. 


20  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Com.  Too  modest  are  you; 

More  cruel  to  your  good  report  than  grateful 
To  us  that  give  you  truly:  by  your  patience, 
If  'gainst  yourself  you  be  incensed,  we  '11  put  you, 
Like  one  that  means  his  proper  harm,  in  manacles, 
Then  reason  safely  with  you.     Therefore,rbe  't  known, 
As  t'  us,  to  all  the  world,  that  Caius  Marcius 
Wears  this  war's  garlandj  in  token  of  the  which, 
My  noble  steed,  known  fo  the  camp,  I  give  him,  60 

With  all  his  trim  belonging;  and  from  this  time, 
For  what  he  did  before  Corioles,  call  him, 
With  all  th'  applause  and  clamour  of  the  host, 
Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus!    Bear 
Th*  addition  nobly  ever ! 

{Flourish.     Trumpets  sound,  and  drums. 

All.  Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus! 

Cor.  I  will  go  wash; 
Andfwhen  my  face  is  fair,  you  shall  perceive 
Whether  I  blush  or  nojjhowbeit,  I  thank  you. 
I  mean  to  stride  your  steed,  and  at  all  times  70 

To  undercrest  your  good  addition 
To  th'  fairness  of  my  power. 

Com.  So,  to  our  tent ; 

Where,  ere  we  do  repose  us,  we  will  write 
To  Rome  of  our  success.    You,  Titus  Lartius, 
Must  to  Corioles  back:  send  us  to  Rome 
The  best,  with  whom  we  may  articulate, 
For  their  own  good  and  ours. 

Lart.  I  shall,  my  lord. 

Cor.  The  gods  begin  to  mock  me.     I,  that  now 
Refused  most  princely  gifts,  am  bound  to  beg 
Of  my  lord  general. 

Com.  Take  it ;  't  is  yours.    What  is  it  ?  80 

Cor.  I  sometime  lay  here  in  Corioles 
At  a  poor  man's  house;  he  used  me  kindly: 
He  cried  to  me;  I  saw  him  prisoner; 
But  then  Aufidius  was  within  my  view, 
And  wrath  o'erwhelm'd  my  pity:  I  request  you 
To  give  my  poor  host  freedom. 

Com.  O,  well  begg'd! 

Were  he  the  butcher  of  my  son,  he  should 
Be  free  as  is  the  wind.     Deliver  him,  Titus. 

Lart.  Marcius,  his  name? 

Cor.  By  Jupiter!  forgot 

I'm  weary;  yea,  my  memory  is  tired.  90 


Scene  10.]  CORIOLANUS. 

Have  we  no  wine  here? 

Com.  Go  we  to  our  tent : 

The  blood  upon  your  visage  dries ;  't  is  time 
It  should  be  look'd  to:  come.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  X.     The  camp  of  the  Volsces. 

A  flourish.    Cornets.    Enter  Tullus  Aufidius,  bloody,  with 
two  or  three  Soldiers. 

Auf.  The  town  is  ta'en! 

First  Sol.  'T  will  be  delivered  back  on  good  condition. 

Auf.  Condition! 
I  would  I  were  a  Roman;  for  I  cannot, 
Being  a  Volsce,  be  that  I  am.     Condition! 
What  good  condition  can  a  treaty  find 
I'  th'  part  that  is  at  mercy?     Five  times,  Marcius, 
I  've  fought  with  thee;  so  often  hast  thou  beat  me, 
And  wouldst  do  so,  I  think,  should  we  encounter 
As  often  as  we  eat.     By  th'  elements,  10 

If  e'er  again  I  meet  him  beard  to  beard, 
He's  mine,  or  I  am  his:  mine  emulation 
Hath  not  that  honour  in't  it  had;  for  where 
I  thought  to  crush  him  in  an  equal  force, 
True  sword  to  sword,  I  '11  potch  at  him  some  way 
Or  wrath  or  craft  may  get  him^ 

First  Sol.  He's  the  devil. 

Auf  Bolder,  though  not  so  subtle.     My  valour's  poison'd 
With  only  suffering  stain  by  him;  for  him 
Shall  fly  out  of  itself:  nor  sleep  nor  sanctuary, 
Being  naked,  sick,  nor  fane  nor  Capitol,  20 

The  prayers  of  priests  nor  times  of  sacrifice, 
Embarquements  all  of  fury,  shall  lift  up 
Their  rotten  privilege  and  custom  'gainst 
My  hate  to  MarciusXwhere  I  find  him,  were  it 
At  home,  upon  my  brother's  guard,  even  there, 
Against  the  hospitable  canon,  would  I 
Wash  my  fierce  hand  in 's  heart.     Go  you  to  th'  city; 
Learn  how  't  is  held;  and  what  they  are  that  must 
Be  hostages  for  Rome. 

First  Sol.  Will  not  you  go? 

Auf.  I  am  attended  at  the  cypress  grove:  I  pray  you —  30 
'T  is  south  the  city  mills — bring  me  word  thither 
How  the  world  goes,  that  to  the  pace  of  it 
I  may  spur  on  my  journey. 

First  Sol.  I  shall,  sir.  [Exeunt. 


22  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

ACT   II. 

Scene  I.    Rome.    A  public  place. 

Enter  MENENIUS  with  the  two  Tribunes  of  the  people, 
Sicinius  and  Brutus. 

Men.  The  augurer  tells  me  we  shall  have  news  to-night. 

Bru.  Good  or  bad? 

Men.  Not  according  to  the  prayer  of  the  people,  for  they 
love  not  Marcius. 

Sic.  Nature  teaches  beasts  to  know  their  friends. 

Men.  Pray  you,  who  does  the  wolf  love? 

Sic.  The  lamb. 

Men.  Ay,  to  devour  him;  as  the  hungry  plebeians  would 
the  noble  Marcius. 

Bru.  He's  a  lamb  indeed,  that  baes  like  a  bear.  10 

Men.  He 's  a  bear  indeed,  that  lives  like  a  lamb.  You  two 
are  old  men:  tell  me  one  thing  that  I  shall  ask  you. 

Both.  Well,  sir. 

Men.  In  what  enormity  is  Marcius  poor  in,  that  you  two 
have  not  in  abundance? 

Bru.  He's  poor  in  no  pne  fault,  but  stored  with  all. 

Sic.  Especially  in  [pride.!  -- 

Bru.  And  topping  all  others  in  boasting. 

Men.  This  is  strange  now:  do  yotTtwo  know  how  you  are 
censured  here  in  the  city,  I  mean  of  us  o'  th'  right-hand  file? 
do  you?  21 

Both.  Why,  how  are  we  censured? 

Men.  Because  you  talk  of  pride  now, — will  you  not  be 
angry? 

Both.  Well,  well,  sir,  well. 

Men.  Why,  't  is  no  great  matter;  for  a  very  little  thief  of 
occasion  will  rob  you  of  a  great  deal  of  patience:  give  your 
dispositions  the  reins,  and  be  angry  at  your  pleasures;  at  the 
least,  if  you  take  it  as  a  pleasure  to  you  in  being  so.  You 
blame  Marcius  for  being  proud?  30 

Bru.  We  do  it  not  alone,  sir. 

Men.  I  know  you  can  do  very  little  alone;  for  your  helps 
are  many,  or  else  your  actions  would  grow  wondrous  single: 
your  abilities  are  too  infant-like  for  doing  much  alone.  You 
talk  of  pride:  O  that  you  could  turn  your  eyes  toward  the 
napes  of  your  necks,  and  make  but  an  interior  survey  of  your 
good  selves !     O  that  you  could ! 

Bru.  What  then,  =;r? 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  23 

Men.  Why,  then  you  should  discover  a  brace  of  unmeriting, 
proud,  violent,  testy  magistrates,  alias  fools,  as  any  in  Rome. 

Sic.  Menenius,  you  are  known  well  enough  too.  41 

Men.  I  am  known  to  be  a  humorous  patrician,  and  one  that 
loves  a  cup  of  hot  wine  with  not  a  drop  of  allaying  Tiber  in 't; 
said  to  be  something  imperfect  in  favouring  the  first  complaint; 
hasty  and  tinder-like  upon  too  trival  motion;  one  that  converses 
more  with  the  buttock  of  the  night  than  with  the  forehead  of 
the  morning  :rwhat  I  think  I  utterjand  spend  my  malice  in 
my  breath.  Meeting  two  such  wealsmen  as  you  are — I  can- 
not call  you  Lycurguses — if  the  drink  you  give  me  .touch  my 
palate  adversely,  I  make  a  crooked  face  at  it.  I  cannot  say 
your  worships  have  delivered  the  matter  well,  when  I  find  the 
ass  in  compound  with  the  major  part  of  your  syllables:  and 
though  I  must  be  content  to  bear  with  those  that  say  you  are 
reverend  grave  men,ryet  they  lie  deadly  that  tell  you  you  have 
good  faces.}  If  you  see  this  in  the  map  of  my  microcosm, 
follows  it  that  I  am  known  well  enough  too  ?  what  harm  can 
your  bisson  conspectuities  glean  out  of  this  character,  if  I  be 
known  well  enough  too? 

Bru.  Come,  sir,  come,  we  know  you  well  enough.  59 

Men.  lYou  know  neither  me,  yourselves,  nor  any  thing^  You 
are  ambitious  for  poor  knaves'  caps  and  legs:  you  wear  out 
a  good  wholesome  forenoon  in  hearing  a  cause  between  an 
orange- wife  and  a  for  set-seller;  and  then  rejourn  the  contro- 
versy of  three  pence  to  a  second  day  of  audience.  When  you 
are  hearing  a  matter  between  party  and  party,  if  you  chance 
to  be  pinched  with  the  colic,  you  make  faces  like  mummers; 
set  up  the  bloody  flag  against  all  patience;  and,  in  roaring  for 
a  chamber-pot,  dismiss  the  controversy  bleeding,  the  more 
entangled  by  your  hearing :  all  the  peace  you  make  in  their 
cause  is,  calling  both  the  parties  knaves.  You  are  a  pair  of 
strange  ones.  7 1 

Bru.  Come,  come,  you  are  well  understood  to  be  a  perfecter 
giber  for  the  table  than  a  necessary  bencher  in  the  Capitol. 

Men. 'Our  very  priests  must  become  mockers,  if  they  shall 
encounter  such  ridiculous  subjects  as  you  arejj  When  you 
speak  best  unto  the  purpose,  it  is  not  worth  the  wagging  of 
your  beards;  and  your  beards  deserve  not  so  honourable  a 
grave  as  to  stuff  a  botcher's  cushion,  or  to  be  entombed  in  an 
ass's  pack-saddle,  fYet  you  must  be  saying,  Marcius  is  proud; 
who,  in  a  cheap  estimation,  is  worth  all  your  predecessors 
since  Deucalion,  though  peradventure  some  of  the  best  of  'em 
were  hereditary  hangmenj  God-den  to  your  worships:  more 
of  your  conversation  woula  infect  my  brain,  being  the  herds- 


24  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

men  of  the  beastly  plebeians:  I  will  be  bold  to  take  my  leave 
of  you.  [Brutus  and  Sicinius  go  aside. 

Enter  Volumnia,  Virgilia,  and  Valeria. 

How  now,  my  as  fair  as  noble  ladies, — and  the  moon,  were 
she  earthly,  no  nobler, — whither  do  you  follow  your  eyes  so 
fast? 

Vol.  Honourable  Menenius,  my  boy  Marcius  approaches; 
for  the  love  of  Juno,  let 's  go.  90 

Men.  Ha!  Marcius  coming  home ! 

Vol.  Ay,  worthy  Menenius;  and  with  most  prosperous 
approbation. 

Men.  Take  my  cap,  Jupiter,  and  I  thank  thee.  Hoo! 
Marcius  coming  home ! 

Vol.  Vir.  Nay,  't  is  true. 

Vol.  Look,  here 's  a  letter  from  him:  the  state  hath  another, 
his  wife  another;  and,  I  think,  there's  one  at  home  for  you. 

Men.  I  will  make  my  very  house  reel  to-night:  a  letter  for 
me!  100 

Vir.  Yes,  certain,  there's  a  letter  for  you;  I  saw't. 

Men.  lA  letter  for  me !  at  gives  me  an  estate  of  seven  years* 
health;  in  which  time  I  will  make  a  lip  at  the  physician:  the 
most  sovereign  prescription  in  Galen  is  but  empiricutic,  and, 
to  this  preservative,  of  no  better  report  than  a  horse-drench. 
Is  he  not  wounded?  he  was  wont  to  come  home  wounded. 

Vir.  O,  no,  no,  no. 

Vol.  O,  he  is  wounded;  I  thank  the  gods  for't. 

Men.  So  do  I  too,  if  it  be  not  too  much:  brings  a'  victory 
in  his  pocket?  the  wounds  become  him.  1 10 

Vol.  On's  brows:  Menenius,  he  comes  the  third  time  home 
with  the  oaken  garland. 

Men.   Has  he  disciplined  Aufidius  soundly? 

Vol.  Titus  Lartius  writes,  they  fought  together,  but  Aufidius 
got  off. 

Men.  And  'twas  time  for  him  too,  I'll  warrant  him  that: 
an  he  had  stayed  by  him,  I  would  not  have  been  so  fidiused 
for  all  the  chests  in  Corioles,  and  the  gold  that's  in  them.  Is 
the  senate  possessed  of  this?  1 19 

Vol.  Good  ladies,  let's  go.  Yes,  yes,  yes;  the  senate  has 
letters  from  the  general,  wherein  he  gives  my  son  the  whole 
name  of  the  war:  he  hath  in  this  action  outdone  his  former 
deeds  doubly. 

Val.  In  troth,  there's  wondrous  things  spoke  of  him. 

Men.  Wondrous!  ay,  I  warrant  you,  and  not  without  his 
true  purchasing. 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  25 

Vir.  The  gods  grant  them  true ! 

Vol.  True!  pow  waw.  128 

Men.  True !  I  '11  be  sworn  they  are  true.  Where  is  he 
wounded?  [To  the  Tribunes]  God  save  your  good  worships  ! 
Marcius  is  coming  home :  he  has  more  cause  to  be  proud. 
Where  is  he  wounded? 

Vol.  V  th'  shoulder  and  i'  th'  left  arm :  there  will  be  large 
cicatrices  to  show  the  people,  when  he  shall  stand  for  his 
place.  He  received  in  the  repulse  of  Tarquin  seven  hurts 
i'  th'  body. 

Men.— One  i'  th'  neck,  and  two  i'  th'  thigh,— there 's  nine 
that  I  know. 

Vol.  He  had,  before  this  last  expedition,  twenty-five  wounds 
upon  him.  140 

,  Men.  Now  it's  twenty-seven:  every  gash  was  an  enemy's 
grave.     [A  shout  and  flourish^     Hark !  the  trumpets. 

Vol.  These  are  the  ushers  of  Marcius:  before  him  he  carries 
noise,  and  behind  him  he  leaves  tears: 
Death,  that  dark  spirit,  in's  nervy  arm  doth  lie; 
Which,  being  advanced,  declines,  and  then  men  die. 

A  sennet.  Trumpets  sound.  Enter  Cominius  the  getieral, 
and  Titxss  Lartius;  between  them,  Coriolanus,  crowned 
with  an  oaken  garland;  with  Captains  and  Soldiers,  and 
a  Herald. 

Her.  Know,  Rome,  that  all  alone  Marcius  did  fight 
Within  Corioles  gates:  where  he  hath  won, 
With  fame,  a  name  to  Caius  Marcius;  these 
In  honour  follows  Coriolanus.  1 5° 

Welcome  to  Rome,  renowned  Coriolanus !  [Flourish. 

All.  Welcome  to  Rome,  renowned  Coriolanus! 

Cor,  No  more  of  this;  it  does  offend  my  heart: 
Pray  now,  no  more. 

Com.  Look,  sir,  your  mother! 

Cor.  O, 

You  have,  I  know,  petition'd  all  the  gods 
For  my  prosperity!  [Kneels. 

Vol.  Nay,  my  good  soldier,  up; 

My  gentle  Marcius,  worthy  Caius,  and 
By  deed-achieving  honour  newly  named, — 
WThat  is  it? — Coriolanus  must  I  call  thee? — 
But,  O,  thy  wife ! 

Cor.  My  gracious  silence,  hail !  160 

Wouldst  thou  have  laugh'd  had  I  come  comn'd  home, 
That  weep'st  to  see  me  triumph?    Ah,  my  dear, 


26  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

Such  eyes  the  widows  in  Corioles  wear, 
And  mothers  that  lack  sons. 

Men.  Now,  the  gods  crown  thee ! 

Cor.  And  live  you  yet?    [To  Valeria]  O  my  sweet  lady, 

pardon. 
Vol.  I  know  not  where  to  turn:  O,  welcome  home: 
And  welcome,  general:  and  ye 're  welcome  all. 

Men.  A  hundred  thousand  welcomes.     I  could  weep 
And  I  could  laugh,  I  'm  light  and  heavy.     Welcome. 
A  curse  begin  at  very  root  on's  heart,  170 

That  is  not  glad  to  see  thee!     You  are  three 
That  Rome  should  dote  on:  yet,  by  th'  faith  of  men, 
We  've  some  old  crab-trees  here  at  home  that  will  not 
Be  grafted  to  your  relish.     Yet  welcome,  wairiors: 
We  call  a  nettle  but  a  nettle  and 
The  faults  of  fools  but  folly. 

Com.  Ever  right. 

Cor.  Menenius,  ever,  £.ver. 

Herald.  "Give  way  there,  and  go  on ! 

Cor.  [To  Volumnia  and  Virgzlza]  Your  hand,  and 

yours: 
Ere  in  our  own  house  I  do  shade  my  head, 
The  good  patricians  must  be  visited ;  180 

From  whom  I  have  received  not  only  greetings, 
But  with  them  change  of  honours. 

Vol.  I  have  lived 

To  see  inherited  my  very  wishes 
And  th'  buildings  of  my  fancy:  only 
There 's  one  thing  wanting,  which  I  doubt  not  but 
Our  Rome  will  cast  upon  thee. 

Cor.  Know,  good  mother, 

I  'd  rather  be  their  servant  in  my  way, 
Than  sway  with  them  in  theirs. 

Com.  On,  to  the  Capitol ! 

[Flourish.     Cornets.     Exeunt  in  state,  as  before. 
Brutus  and  Sicinius  come  forward. 

Bru.  All  tongues  speak  of  him,  and  the  bleared  sights 
Are  spectacled  to  see  him:  your  prattling  nurse  190 

Into  a  rupture  lets  her  baby  cry 
While  she  chats  him:  the  kitchen  malkin  pins 
Her  richest  lockram  'bout  her  reechy  neck, 
Clambering  the  walls  to  eye  him:  stalls,  bulks,  windows, 
Are  smother'd  up,  leads  fill'd,  and  ridges  horsed 
With  variable  complexions,  all  agreeing 
In  earnestness  to  see  him:  seld-shown  flamens 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  27 

Do  press  among  the  popular  throngs  and  puff 

To  win  a  vulgar  station :  our  veil'd  dames 

Commit  the  war  of  white  and  damask  in  200 

Their  nicely-gawded  cheeks  to  th'  wanton  spoil 

Of  Phoebus'  burning  kisses:  such  a  pother 

As  if  that  whatsoever  god  who  leads  him 

Were  slily  crept  into  his  human  powers 

And  gave  him  graceful  posture. 

Sic.  On  the  sudden, 

I  warrant  him  consul. 

Bru.  Then  our  office  may, 

During  his  power,  go  sleep. 

Sic.  He  cannot  temperately  transport  his  honours 
From  where  he  should  begin  and  end,  but  will 
Lose  those  he  'th  won. 

Bru.  In  that  there's  comfort. 

Sic.  ^        Doubt  not 

The  commoners,  for  whom  we  stand,  but  (they       ..  211 

Upon  their  ancient  malice  will  forget 
With  the  least  cause  these  his  new  honours,7which 
That  he  '11  give  them  make  I  as  little  question 
As  he  is  proud  to  do 't. 

Bru.  I  heard  him  swear, 

Were  he  to  stand  for  consul,  never  would  he 
Appear  i'  th'  market-place  nor  on  him  put 
The  napless  vesture  of  humility; 
Nor,  showing,  as  the  manner  is,  his  wounds 
To  th'  people,  beg  their  stinking  breaths. 

Sic.  'T  is  right.  220 

Bru.  It  was  his  word:  O,  he  would  miss  it  rather 
Than  carry 't  but  by  th'  suit  o'  th'  gentry  to  him 
And  the  desire  o'  th'  nobles. 

Sic.      '  I  wish  no  better 

Than  have  him  hold  that  purpose  and  to  put  it 
In  execution. 

Bru.  'T  is  most  like  he  will. 

Sic.  It  shall  be  to  him  then  as  our  good  wills, 
A  sure  destruction. 

Bru.  So  it  must  fall  out 

To  him  or  our  authorities.  ^For  an  end, 
We  must  suggest  the  people  in  what  hatred 
He  still  hath  held  themj^that  to's  power  he  would  230 

Have  made  them  mules,  silenced  their  pleaders,  and 
Dispropertied  their  freedoms,  holding  them, 
In  human  action  and  capacity, 


28  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

Of  no  more  soul  nor  fitness  for  the  world 
Than  camels  in  their  war,  who  have  their  provand 
Only  for  "Bearing  burdens,  and  sore  blows 
For  sinking  under  them. 

Sic.  This,  as  you  say,  suggested 

At  some  time  when  his  soaring  insolence 
Shall  touch  the  people — which  time  shall  not  want, 
If  he  be  put  upon 't;  and  that 's  as  easy  240 

As  to  set  dogs  on  sheep — will  be  his  fire 
To  kindle  their  dry  stubble;  and  their  blaze 
Shall  darken  him  for  ever. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Bru.  What 's  the  matter? 

Mess.  You  're  sent  for  to  th'  Capitol.      ;T  is  thought 
That  Marcius  shall  be  consul: 
I  've  seen  the  dumb  men  throng  to  see  him  and 
The  blind  to  hear  him  speak:  matrons  flung  gloves, 
Ladies  and  maids  their  scarfs  and  handkerchers, 
Upon  him  as  he  pass'd:  the  nobles  bended, 
As  to  Jove's  statue,  and  the  commons  made  250 

A  shower  and  thunder  with  their  caps  and  shouts: 
I  never  saw  the  like. 

Bru.  Let 's  to  the  Capitol; 

And  carry  with  us  ears  and  eyes  for  th'  time, 
But  hearts  for  the  event. 

Sic.  Have  with  you.  {Exeunt. 

Scene  II.     The  same.     The  Capitol. 
Enter  two  Officers,  to  lay  cushions. 

First  Off.  Come,  come,  they  are  almost  here.  How  many 
stand  for  consulships? 

Sec.  Off.  Three,  they  say:*but  'tis  thought  of  every  one 
Coriolanus  will  carry  it) 

First  Off.  That 's  a  brave  fellow;  but  he 's  vengeance  proud, 
and  loves  not  the  common  people. 

Sec.  Off.  Faith,fthere  hath  been  many  great  men  that  have 
flattered  the  people,  who  ne'er  loved  themj  and  there  be  many 
that  they  have  loved,  they  know  not  wherefore:  so  that,  if  they 
love  they  know  not  why,  they  hate  upon  no  better  a  ground: 
therefore,  for  Coriolanus  neither  to  care  whether  they  love  or 
hate  him  manifests  the  true  knowledge  he  has  in  their  dis- 


Scene  2.]  CORIOLANUS.  29 

position ;  and  out  of  his  noble  carelessness  lets  them  plainly 
see't  14 

First  Off.  If  he  did  not  care  whether  he  had  their  love  or 
no,  he  waved  indifferently  'twixt  doing  them  neither  good  nor 
harm:  but  he  seeks  their  hate  with  greater  devotion  than  they 
can  renflgt  It  him;  anoHeaves  nothing  Ulldune  tttaTTOylully 
'discover  him  lliell  opposite.  Now,  \  to  seem  to  affect  the 
malice  and  displeasure  of  the  people  is  as  bad  as  that  which 
he  dislikes,  to  flatter  them  for  their  lovje^  21 

Sec.  Off.  He  hath  deserved  worthily  of  his  country:  and 
his  ascent  is  not  by  such  easy  degrees  as  those  who,  having 
been  supple  and  courteous  to  the  people,  bonneted,  without 
any  further  deed  to  have  them  at  all  into  their  estimation  and 
report:  but  he  hath  so  planted  his  honours  in  their  eyes,  and 
his  actions  in  their  hearts,  that  for  their  tongues  to  be  silent, 
and  not  confess  so  much,  were  a  kind  of  ingrateful  injury;  to 
report  otherwise  were  a  malice  that,  giving  itself  the  lie,  would 
pluck  reproof  and  rebuke  from  every  ear  that  heard  it.         30 

First  Off.  No  more  of  him ;  he  5s  a  worthy  man:  make  way, 
they  are  coming. 

A  sennet.  Enter,  with  Lictors  before  the?n,  Cominius  the 
consul,  Menenius,  Coriolanus,  Senators,  Sicinius  and 
Brutus.  The  Senators  take  their  places;  the  Tribunes 
take  their  places  by  themselves.     CORIOLANUS  stands 

Men.  Having  determined  of  the  Volsces  and 
To  send  for  Titus  Lartius,  it  remains, 
As  the  main  point  of  this  our  after-meeting, 
To  gratify  his  noble  service  that 

Hath  thus  stood  for  his  country:  therefore,  please  you, 
Most  reverend  and  grave  elders,  to  desire 
The  present  consul,  and  last  general 

In  our  well-found  successes,  to  report  40 

A  little  of  that  worthy  work  perform'd 
By  Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus,  whom 
We  met  here  both  to  thank  and  to  remember 
With  honours  like  himself. 

First  Sen.  Speak,  good  Cominius: 

Leave  nothing  out  for  length,  and  make  us  think 
Rather  our  state 's  defective  for  requital 
Than  we  to  stretch  it  out.     [To  the  Tribunes]  Masters  o'  th' 

people, 
We  do  request  your  kindest  ears,  and  after, 
Your  loving  motion  toward  the  common  body, 
To  yield  what  passes  here. 


30  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

Sic.  We  are  convented  50 

Upon  a  pleasing-  treaty,  and  have  hearts 
Inclinable  to  honour  and  advance 
The  theme  of  our  assembly. 

Bru.  Which  the  rather 

We  shall  be  blest  to  do,  if  he  remember 
A  kinder  value  of  the  people  than 
He  'th  hereto  prized  them  at. 

Men.  That 's  off,  that 's  off; 

I  would  you  rather  had  been  silent.     Please  you 
To  hear  Cominius  speak? 

Bru.  Most  willingly; 

But  yet  my  caution  was  more  pertinent 
Than  the  rebuke  you  give 't. 

Mem.  He  loves  your  people;  60 

But  tie  him  not  to  be  their  bedfellow. 

Worthy  Cominius,  speak.     {Coriolanus  offers  to  go  away.'] 
Nay,  keep  your  place. 

First  Sen.  Sit,  Coriolanus;  never  shame  to  hear 

What  you  have  nobly  done. 

Cor.  Your  honours'  pardon: 

I  'd  rather  have  my  wounds  to  heal  again 
Than  hear  say  how  I  got  them. 

Bru.  Sir,  I  hope 

My  words  disbench'd  you  not. 

Cor.  No,  sir:  yet  oft, 

When  blows  have  made  me  stay,  I  fled  from  words. 
You  soothed  not,  therefore  hurt  not :'  but  your  people, 
I  love  them  as  they  weighj 

Men.  Pray  now,  sit  down.  70 

Cor.  I  'd  rather  have  one  scratch  my  head  i'  th'  sun 
When  the  alarum  were  struck  than  idly  sit 
To  hear  my  nothings  monster'd.  [Exit. 

Men.  Masters  o'  th'  people, 

Your  multiplying  spawn  how  can  he  flatter — 
That 's  thousand  to  one  good  one — when  you  now  see 
He  'd  rather  venture  all  his  limbs  for  honour 
Than  one  on 's  ears  to  hear 't  ?     Proceed,  Cominius. 

Com.  I  shall  lack  voice:  the  deeds  of  Coriolanus 
Should  not  be  utter'd  feebly.     It  is  held 
That  valour  is  the  chiefest  virtue,  and  80 

Most  dignifies  the  haver:  if  it  be, 
The  man  I  speak  of  cannot  in  the  world 
Be  singly  counterpoised.     At  sixteen  years, 
When  Tarquin  made  a  head  for  Rome,  he  fought 


Scene  2.]  CORIOLANUS.  31 

Beyond  the  mark  of  others:  our  then  dictator, 

Whom  with  all  praise  I  point  at,  saw  him  fight, 

When  with  his  Amazonian  chin  he  drove 

The  bristled  lips  before  him:  he  bestrid 

An  o'er-press'd  Roman  and  i'  th'  consul's  view 

Slew  three  opposers:  Tarquin's  self  he  met,  90 

And  struck  him  on  his  knee:  in  that  day's  feats, 

When  he  might  act  the  woman  in  the  scene, 

He  proved  best  man  i'  th'  field,  and  for  his  meed 

WTas  brow-bound  with  the  oak.     His  pupil  age 

Man-enter^  thus,  he  waxed  like  a  sea, 

And  in  the  brunt  of  seventeen  battles  since 

He  lurch'd  all  swords  o'  th'  garland.     For  this  last, 

Before  and  in  Corioles,  let  me  say, 

I  cannot  speak  him  home:  he  stopp'd  the  fliers; 

And  by  his  rare  example^made  the  coward  100 

Turn  terror  into  sport:  (as)weeds  before 

A  vessel  under  sail,  so  men  obey'd 

And  fell  below  his  stem:  his  sword,  death's  stamp, 

Where  it  did  mark,  it  took;  from  face  to  foot 

He  was  a  thing  of  blood,  whose  every  motion 

Was  timed  with  dying  cries:  alone  he  enter'd 

The  mortal  gate  o'  th'  city,  which  he  painted 

With  shunless  destiny;  aidless  came  off, 

And  with  a  sudden  re-inforcement  struck 

Corioles  like  a  planet:  now  all 's  his:  1 10 

When,  by  and  by,  the  din  of  war  gan  pierce 

His  ready  sense;  then  straight  his  doubled  spirit 

Re-quicken'd  what  in  flesh  was  fatigate, 

And  to  the  battle  came  he;  where  he  did 

Run  reeking  o'er  the  lives  of  men,  as  if 

'Twere  a  perpetual  spoil:  and  till  we  call'd 

Both  field  and  city  ours,  he  never  stood 

To  ease  his  breast  with  panting. 

Men.  Worthy  man ! 

First  Sen.  He  cannot  but  with  measure  fit  the  honours 
Which  we  devise  him. 

Com.  Our  spoils  he  kick'd  at,  120 

And  look'd  upon  things  precious  as  they  were 
The  common  muck  o'  th'  world:,  jie  covets  less 
Than  misery  itself  would  give;{rewajds 
His  deeds  with  doing  themJand  is  content 
To  spend  the  time  to  end  TrT 

Men.  He's  right  noble: 

Let  him  be  call'd  for. 

*v(M415)  D 


32  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

First  Sen.  Call  Coriolanus. 

Off.  He  doth  appear 

Re-enter  Coriolanus. 

Men.  The  senate,  Coriolanus,  are  well  pleased 
To  make  thee  consul. 

Cor.  I  do  owe  them  still 

My  life  and  services. 

Men.  It  then  remains  130 

That  you  do  speak  to  th'  people. 

Cor.  I  do  beseech  you, 

Let  me  o'erleap  that  custom,  for  I  cannot 
Put  on  the  gown,  stand  naked  and  entreat  them,      \  rsla, . 
For  my  wounds'  sake,  to  give  their  suffrage:  please  you 
That  I  may  pass  this  doing. 

Sic.  Sir,  the  people 

Must  have  their  voices ;  neither  will  they  bate 
One  jot  of  ceremony. 

Men.  Put  them  not  to 't  : 

Pray  you,  go  fit  you  to  the  custom  and 
Take  to  you,  as  your  predecessors  have, 
Your  honour  with  your  form. 

Cor.  It  is  a  part  140 

That  I  shall  blush  in  acting,  and  might  well 
Be  taken  from  the  people. 

Bru.  Mark  you  that? 

Cor.  To  brag  unto  them,  thus  I  did,  and  thus ; 
Show  them  th'  unaching  scars  which  I  should  hide, 
As  if  I  had  received  them  for  the  hire 
Of  their  breath  only! 

Men.  Do  not  stand  upon 't. 

We  recommend  t*  you,  tribunes  of  the  people, 
Our  purpose  to  them :  and  t'  our  noble  consul 
Wish  we  all  joy  and  honour. 

Senators.  To  Coriolanus  come  all  joy  and  honour!         150 
[Flourish  of  cornets.     Exeunt  all  but  Sicinius 
and  Brutus. 

Bru.  You  see  how  he  intends  to  use  the  people. 

Sic.  May  they  perceive 's  intent!     He  will  require  them, 
As  if  he  did  contemn  what  he  requested 
Should  be  in  them  to  give. 

Bru.  Come,  we  '11  inform  them 

Of  our  proceedings  here:  on  th'  market-place 
I  know  they  do  attend  us.  {Exeunt 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  33 

Scene  III.     The  same.     The  Forum. 
Enter  seven  or  eight  Citizens. 

First  Cit.  Once,  if  he  do  require  our  voices,  we  ought  not 
to  deny  him. 

Sec.  Cit.  We  may,  sir,  if  we  will 

Third  Cit.  We  have  power  in  ourselves  to  do  it,  but  it  is 
a  power  that  we  have  no  power  to  do;  for  if  he  show  us  his 
wounds  and  tell  us  his  deeds,  we  are  to  put  our  tongues  into 
those  wounds  and  speak  for  them ;  so,  if  he  tell  us  his  noble 
deeds,  we  must  also  tell  him  our  noble  acceptance  of  them. 
Hngratitude  is  monstrous,  and  for  the  multitude  to  be  ingrate- 
ful,  were  to  make  a  monster  of  the  multitude^  of  the  which 
we  being  members,  should  bring  ourselves  to  be  monstrous 
members.  12 

First  Cit.  And  to  make  us  no  better  thought  of,  a  little 
help  will  serve;  for  once  we  stood  up  about  the  corn,  he 
himself  stuck  not  to  call  us  the  many-headed  multitude. 

Third  Cit.  We  have  been  called  so  of  many;  not  that  our 
heads  are  some  brown,  some  black,  some  abram,  some  bald, 
but  that  our  wits  are  so  diversely  coloured:  and  truly  I  think 
if  all  our  wits  were  to  issue  out  of  one  skull,  they  would  fly 
east,  west,  north,  south,  and  their  consent  of  one  direct  way 
should  be  at  once  to  all  the  points  o'  th'  compass.  21 

Sec.  Cit.  Think  you  so?  Which  way  do  you  judge  any  wit 
would  fly? 

Third  Cit.  Nay,  your  wit  will  not  so  soon  out  as  another 
man's  will ;  't  is  strongly  wedged  up  in  a  block-head,  but  if  it 
were  at  liberty,  't  would,  sure,  southward. 

Sec.  Cit.  Why  that  way? 

Third  Cit.  To  lose  itself  in  a  fog,  where  being  three  parts 
melted  away  with  rotten  dews,  the  fourth  would  return  for 
conscience  sake,  to  help  to  get  thee  a  wife.  30 

Sec.  Cit.  You  are  never  without  your  tricks :  you  may,  you 
may. 

Third  Cit.  Are  you  all  resolved  to  give  your  voices?  But 
that's  no  matter,  the  greater  part  carries  it.  I  say,  if  he 
would  incline  to  the  people,  there  was  never  a  worthier  man. 

Enter  Coriolanus  in  a  gown  of  humility,  with  Menenius. 

Here  he  comes,  and  in  the  gown  of  humility:  mark  his  be- 
haviour. We  are  not  to  stay  all  together,  but  to  come  by 
him  where  he  stands,  by  ones,  by  twos,  and  by  threes.  He 's 
to  make  his  requests  by  particulars ;  wherein  every  one  of  us 


34  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

has  a  single  honour,  in  giving  him  our  own  voices  with  our 
own  tongues :  therefore  follow  me,  and  I  '11  direct  you  how 
you  shall  go  by  him.  42 

All.  Content,  content.  [Exeunt  Citizens. 

Men.  O  sir,  you  are  not  right :  have  you  not  known 
iTie  worthiest  men  have  done't? 

Cor.  What  must  I  say? 

1 1  pray,  sir', — Plague  upon 't !  I  cannot  bring 
My  tongue  to  such  a  pace: — '  Look,  sir,  my  wounds! 
I  got  them  in  my  country's  service,  when 
Some  certain  of  your  brethren  roarM  and  ran 
From  the  noise  of  our  own  drums.' 

Men.  O  me,  the  gods!.  50 

You  must  not  speak  of  that :  you  must  desire  them 
To  think  upon  you. 

Cor.  Think  upon  me !  hang  'em ! 

I  would  they  would  forget  me,  like  the  virtues 
Which  our  divines  lose  by  'em. 

Men.  You  '11  mar  all : 

I  '11  leave  you :  pray  you,  speak  to  'em,  I  pray  you, 
In  wholesome  manner.  {Exit 

Cor.  Bid  them  wash  their  faces 

And  keep  their  teeth  clean.     [Re-enter  two  of  the  Citizens^ 

So,  here  comes  a  brace.     [Re-enter  a  third  Citizen^ 
You  know  the  cause,  sir,  of  my  standing  here. 

Third  Cit.  We  do,  sir;  tell  us  what  hath  brought  you  to't. 

Cor.  Mine  own  desert.  61 

Sec.  Cit.  Your  own  desert ! 

Cor.  Ay,  not  mine  own  desire. 

Third  Cit.  Hpw  not  your  own  desire? 

Cor.  No,  sirjjtwas  never  my  desire  yet  to  trouble  the  poor 
with  begging! 

Third  Cit.  You  must  think,  if  we  give  you  anything,  we 
hope  to  gain  by  you. 

Cor.  Well  then,  I  pray,  your  price  o'  th'  consulship? 

First  Cit.  The  price  is  to  ask  it  kindly.  70 

Cor.  Kindly!  Sir,  I  pray,  let  me  ha't:  I  have  wounds  to 
show  you,  which  shall  be  yours  in  private.  Your  good  voice, 
sir;  what  say  you? 

Sec.  Cit.  You  shall  ha 't,  worthy  sir. 

Cor.  A  match,  sir.  There 's  in  all  two  worthy  voices  begged. 
I  have  your  alms :  adieu. 

Third  Cit.  But  this  is  something  odd. 

Sec.  Cit.  An  't  were  to  give  again,— but 't  is  no  matter.    78 

{Exeunt  the  three  Citizens. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  35 

Re-enter  two  other  Citizens. 

Cor.  Pray  you  now,  if  it  may  stand  with  the  tune  of  your 
voices  that  I  may  be  consul,  I  have  here  the  customary  gown. 

Fourth  Cit.  You  have  deserved  nobly  of  your  country,  and 
you  have  not  deserved  nobly. 

Cor.  Your  enigma? 

Fourth  Cit.  You  have  been  a  scourge  to  her  enemies,  you 
have  been  a  rod  tqher  friends;  [you  have  not  indeed  loved 
the  common  peopled  86 

Cor.  You  should  account  me  the  more  virtuous  that  I  have 
not  been  common  in  my  love.  I  will,  sir,  flatter  my  sworn 
brother,  the  people,  to  earn  a  dearer  estimation  of  them;  'tis 
a  condition  they  account  gentle:  and  since  the  wisdom  of 
their  choice  is  rather  to  have  my  hat  than  my  heart,  I  will 
practise  the  insinuating  nod  and  be  off  to  them  most  counter- 
feitly;  that  is,  sir,  I  will  counterfeit  the  bewitchment  of  some 
popular  man  and  give  it  bountiful  to  the  desirers.  Therefore, 
beseech  you,  I  may  be  consul. 

Fifth  Cit.  We  hope  to  find  you  our  friend ;  and  therefore 
give  you  our  voices  heartily. 

Fourth  Cit.  You  have  received  many  wounds  for  your 
country.  99 

Cor.  I  will  not  seal  your  knowledge  with  showing  them.  I 
will  make  much  of  your  voices,  and  so  trouble  you  no  further. 

Both  Cit.  The  gods  give  you  joy,  sir,  heartily!       [Exeunt. 

Cor.  Most  sweet  voices ! 
Better  it  is  to  die,  better  to  starve, 
-Than  crave  the  hire  which  first  we  do  deserve. 
•Why  in  this  woolvish  toge  should  I  stand  here, 
To  beg  of  Hob  and  Dickjthat  do  appear, 
Their  needless  vouches  r     Custom  calls  me  to't: 
What  custom  wills,  in  all  things  should  we  do't, 
The  dust  on  antique  time  would  lie  unswept,  1 10 

And  mountainous  error  be  too  highly  heap'd 
For  truth  t'  o'er-peer.      Rather  than  fool  it  so, 
Let  the  high  office  and  the  honour  go 
To  one  that  would  do  thus.     I  am  half  through; 
The  one  part  suffer'd,  th'  other  will  I  do. 

Re-enter  three  Citizens  more. 

Here  come  moe  voices. 
Your  voices  :  for  your  voices  I  have  fought ; 
Watcrrd  for  your  voices  ;  for  your  voices  bear 
Of  wounds  two  dozeifocld ;  battles  thrice  six 


36  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

I've  seen  and  heard  of;  for  your  voices  have  120 

Done  many  things,  some  less,  some  more :  your  voices : 
Indeed,  I  would  be  consul. 

Sixth  Cit.  He  has  done  nobly,  and  cannot  go  without  any 
honest  man's  voice. 

Seventh  Cit.  Therefore  let  him  be  consul :  the  gods  give 
him  joy,  and  make  him  good  friend  to  the  people ! 

All  Cit.  Amen,  amen.     God  save  thee,  noble  consul ! 

[Exeunt. 

Con  Worthy  voices ! 

Re-enter  Menenius,  with  Brutus  and  Sicinius. 

Men.  You  've  stood  your  limitation ;  and  the  tribunes 
Endue  you  with  the  people's  voice :  remains  130 

That,  in  th'  official  marks  invested,  you 
Anon  do  meet  the  senate. 

Cor.  Is  this  done? 

Sic.  The  custom  of  request  you  have  discharged : 
The  people  do  admit  you,  and  are  summon'd 
To  meet  anon,  upon  your  approbation. 

Cor.  Where?  at  the  senate-house? 

Sic.  There,  Coriolanus. 

Cor.  May  I  change Jthese  garments \f  <M.    -  ^H  •'**"**&  ^f 

Sic.  '  You  may,  sir. 

Cor.  That  I'll  straight  do;  and,  knowing  myself  again, 
Repair  to  th'  senate-house. 

Men.  I  '11  keep  you  company.    Will  you  along?  40 

Bru.  We  stay  here  for  the  people. 

Sic.  Fare  you  well. 

[Exeunt  Coriolanus  and  Menenius. 
He  has  it  now,  and  by  his  looks  methinks 
'T  is  warm  at 's  heart. 

Bru.  $Vith  a  proud  heart  he  wore  his  humble  weeds. 
Will  you  dismiss  the  people? 

Re-enter  Citizens. 

Sic.  How  now,  my  masters!  have  you  chose  this  man? 

First  Cit.  He  has  our  voices,  sir. 

Bru.  We  pray  the  gods  he  may  deserve  your  loves. 

Sec.  Cit.  Amen,  sir:  to  my  poor  unworthy  notice, 
He  mock'd  us  when  he  begg'd  our  voices. 

Third  Cit.  Certainly  150 

He  flouted  us  downright. 

First  Cit.  No,  't  is  his  kind  of  speech :  he  did  not  mock  us. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  37 

Sec.  Cit.  Not  one  amongst  us,  save  yourself,  but  says 
He  used  us  scornfully:  he  should  have  show'd  us 
His  marks  of  merit,  wounds  received  for's  country. 

Sic.  Why,  so  he  did,  I  'm  sure. 

Citizens.  No,  no ;  no  man  saw  'em. 

Third  Cit.  He  said  he  'd  wounds,  which  he  could  show  in 
private ; 
And  with  his  hat,  thus  waving  it  in  scorn, 
*  I  would  be  consul',  says  he:  'aged  custom, 
But  by  your  voices,  will  not  so  permit  me;  160 

Your  voices  therefore'.    When  we  granted  that, 
Here  was  '  I  thank  you  for  your  voices  :  thank  you : 
Your  most  sweet  voices :  now  you  ve  left  your  voices, 
I  have  no  further  with  you'.     Was  not  this  mockery? 
'     Sic.  Why  either  were  you  ignorant  to  see  it, 
Or,  seeing  it,  of  such  childish  friendliness 
To  yield  your  voices? 

Bru.  Could  you  not  have  told  him 

As  you  were  lesson'd,  when  he  had  no  power, 
But  was  a  petty  servant  to  the  state, 

He  was  your  enemy,  ever  spake  against  170 

Your  liberties  and  the  charters  that  you  bear 
I'  th'  body  of  the  weal ;  and  now,  arriving 
A  place  of  potency  and  sway  o'  th'  state, 
If  he  should  still  malignantly  remain 
Fast  foe  to  th'  plebeii,  your  voices  might 
Be  curses  to  yourselves?    You  should  have  said 
That  as  his  worthy  deeds  did  claim  no  less 
Than  what  he  stood  for,  so  his  gracious  nature 
Would  think  upon  you  for  your  voices  and 
Translate  his  malice  towards  you  into  love,  180 

Standing  your  friendly  lord. 

Sic.  Thus  to  have  said, 

As  you  were  fore-advised,  had  touch'd  his  spirit 
And  tried  his  inclination ;  from  him  pluck'd 
Either  his  gracious  promise,  which  you  might, 
As  cause  had  call'd  you  up,  have  held  him  to; 
Or  else  it  would  have  gall'd  his  surly  nature, 
Which  easily  endures  not  article 
Tying  him  to  aught ;  teo  putting  him  to  rage, 
You  should  have  ta'en  the  advantage  of  his  choler 
And  pass'd  him  unelectecij 

Bru.  Did  you  perceive  190 

He  did  solicit  you  in  free  contempt 
When  he  did  need  your  loves,  and  do  you  think 


38  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

That  his  contempt  shall  not  be  bruising  to  you 
When  he  hath  power  to  crush?    Why,  had  your  bodies 
No  heart  among  you?  or  had  you  tongues  to  cry 
Against  the  rectorship  of  judgment? 

Sic.  Have  you 

Ere  now  denied  the  asker?  and  now  again 
Of  him  that  did  not  ask,  but  mock,  bestow 
Your  sued-for  tongues?  199 

Third  Cit.  He's  not  confirm'd;  we  may  deny  him  yet. 

Sec.  Cit.  And  will  deny  him  : 
I  '11  have  five  hundred  voices  of  that  sound. 

First  Cit.  I  twice  five  hundred  and  their  friends  to  piece 
'em. 

Bru.  Get  you  hence  instantly,  and  tell  those  friends, 
^They  've  chose  a  consul  that  will  from  them  take 
Their  liberties^  make  them  of  no  more  voice 
Than  dogs  that  are  as  often  beat  for  barking 
As  therefore  kept  to  do  so. 

Sic.  Let  them  assemble, 

And  on  a  safer  judgment  all  revoke 

Your  ignorant  election;  enforce  his  pride,  210 

And  his  old  hate  unto  you ;  besides,fforget  not 
With  what  contempt  he  wore  the  humble  wee^i) 
How  in  his  suit  he  scorn'd  you;  but  your  loves, 
Thinking  upon  his  services,  took  from  you 
The  apprehension. of  his  present  portance, 
Which  most  gibingly,  ungravely,  he  did  fashion 
After  th'  inveterate  hate  he  bears  you. 

Bru.  Lay 

A  fault  on  us,  your  tribunes ;  that  we  labour'd, 
No  impediment  between,  but  that  you  must 
Cast  your  election  on  him. 

Sic.  Say,  you  chose  him  220 

More  after  our  commandment  than  as  guided 
By  your  own  true  affections,  and  that  your  minds, 
Pre-occupied  with  what  you  rather  must  do 
Than  what  you  should,  made  you  against  the  grain 
To  voice  him  consul :  lay  the  fault  on  us. 

Bru.  Ay,  spare  us  not.     Say  we  read  lectures  to  you, 
How  youngly  he  began  to  serve  his  country, 
How  long  continued,  and  what  stock  he  springs  of, 
The  noble  house  o'  th'  Marcians,  from  whence  came 
That  Ancus  Marcius,  Numa's  daughter's  son,  230 

Who,  after  great  Hostilius,  here  was  king; 
Of  the  same  house  Publius  and  Quintus  were, 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  39 

That  our  best  water  brought  by  conduits  hither; 
[And  Censorinus,  that  was  so  surnamed,] 
And  nobly  named  so,  twice  being  censor, 
Was  his  great  ancestor. 

Sic.  One  thus  descended, 

That  hath  beside  well  in  his  person  wrought 
To  be  set  high  in  place,  we  did  commend 
To  your  remembrances :  but  you  have  found, 
Scaling  his  present  bearing  with  his  past,  240 

That  he 's  your  fixed  enemy,  and  revoke 
Your  sudden  approbation. 

Bru.  Say,  you  ne'er  had  done  it — 

Harp  on  that  still — but  by  our  putting  on : 
And  presently,  when  you  have  drawn  your  number. 
Repair  to  th'  Capitol. 

All.  We  will  so :  almost  all 

Repent  in  their  election.  [Exeunt  Citizens. 

Bru.  Let  them  go  on ; 

This  mutiny  were  better  put  in  hazard, 
Than  stay,  past  doubt,  for  greater: 
If,  as  his  nature  is,  he  fall  in  rage 

With  their  refusal,  both  observe  and  answer  250 

The  vantage  of  his  anger. 

Sic,  To  th'  Capitol,  come : 

We  will  be  there  before  the  stream  o'  th'  people ; 
And  this  shall  seem,  as  partly  't  is,  their  own, 
Which  we  have  goaded  onward.  [Exeunt. 


ACT  III. 
Scene  I.    Rome.    A  street. 


Cornets.    Enter  Coriolanus,  Menenius,  all  the  Gentry, 
Cominius,  Titus  Lartius,  and  other  Senators. 

Cor.  Tullus  Aufidius  then  had  made  new  head? 

Lart.  He  had,  my  lord;  and  that  it  was  which  caused 
Our  swifter  composition. 

Cor.  So  then  the  Volsces  stand  but  as  at  first, 
Ready,  when  time  shall  prompt  them,  to  make  road 
Upon 's  again. 

Com.  They're  worn,  lord  consul,  so, 

That  we  shall  hardly  in  our  ages  see 
Their  banners  wave  again. 


40  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Cor.  Saw  you  Aufidius? 

Lart.  On  safe-guard  he  came  to  me ;  and  did  curse 
Against  the  Volsces,  for  they  had  so  vildly  10 

Yielded  the  town :  he  is  retired  to  Antium. 

Cor.  Spoke  he  of  me? 

Lart.  He  did,  my  lord. 

Cor.  How?  what? 

Lart.  How  often  he  had  met  you,  sword  to  sword ; 
That  of  all  things  upon  the  earth  he  hated 
Your  person  most ;  that  he  would  pawn  his  fortunes 
To  hopeless  restitution,  so  he  might 
Be  call'd  your  vanquisher. 

Cor.  At  Antium  lives  he? 

Lart.  At  Antium. 

Cor.  I  wish  I  had  a  cause  to  seek  him  there, 
T'  oppose  his  hatred  fully.    Welcome  home.  20 

Enter  Sicinius  and  Brutus. 

Behold,  these  are  the  tribunes  of  the  people, 

The  tongues  o'  th'  common  mouth :  1^  do  despise  them ; 

For  "they  do  prank  them  in  authority, 

Against  all  noble  sufferance. 

Sic.  Pass  no  further. 

Cor.  Ha!  what  is  that? 

Bru.  It  will  be  dangerous  to  go  on :  no  further. 

Cor.  What  makes  this  change? 

Men.  The  matter? 

Com.  Hath  he  not  pass'd  the  noble  and  the  common? 

Bru.  Cominius,  no. 

Cor.  Have  I  had  children's  voices?  30 

First  Sen.  Tribunes,  give  way;  he  shall  to  th'  market- 
place. 

Bru.  The  people  are  incensed  against  him. 

Sic.  Stop, 

Or  all  will  fall  in  broil. 

Cor.  Are  these  your  herd? 

Must  these  have  voices,  that' "can  yield  them  now 
And  straight  disclaim  their  tongues?    What  are  your  offices? 
You  being  their  mouths,  why  rule  you  not  their  teeth? 
Have  you  not  set  them  on? 

Men.  Be  calm,  be  calm. 

Cor.  It  is  a  purposed  thing,  and  grows  by  plot, 
To  curb  the  will  of  the  nobility: 

Suffer 't,  and  live  with  such  as  cannot  rule  40 

Nor  ever  will  be  ruled. 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  4« 

Bru.  Call  5t  not  a  plot : 

The  people  cry  you  mock'd  them,  and  of  late, 
When  corn  was  given  them  gratis,  you  repined ; 
Scandal'd  the  suppliants  for  the  people,  call'd  them 
Time-pleasers,  flatterers,  foes  to  nobleness. 

Cor.  Why,  this  was  known  before. 

Bru.  Not  to  them  all. 

Cor.  Have  you  inform'd  them  sithence? 

Bru.  How!  I  inform  them! 

Cor.     You  're  like  to  do  such  business. 

Bru.  Not  unlike, 

Each  way,  to  better  yours. 

Cor.  Why  then  should  I  be  consul?     By  yond  clouds,     50 
Let  me  deserve  so  ill  of  you,  and  make  me 
Your  fellow  tribune. 

Sic.  You  show  too  much  of  that 

For  which  the  people  stir:  if  you  will  pass 
To  where  you  're  bound,  you  must  inquire  your  way, 
Which  you  are  out  of,  with  a  gentler  spirit, 
Or  never  be  so  noble  as  a  consul, 
Nor  yoke  with  him  for  tribune. 

Men.  Let 's  be  calm. 

Com.  The  people  are  abused ;  set  on.     This  paltering 
Becomes  not  Rome,  nor  has  Coriolanus 
Deserved  this  so  dishonour'd  rub,  laid  falsely  60 

I'  th'  plain  way  of  his  merit. 

Cor.  Tell  me  of  corn ! 

This  was  my  speech,  and  I  will  speak 't  again — 

Men.  Not  now,  not  now. 

First  Sen.  Not  in  this  heat,  sir,  now 

Cor.  Now,  as  I  live,  I  will.     My  nobler  friends, 
I  crave  their  pardons : 

For  th'  mutable,  rank-scented  many,  let  them 
Regard  me  as  I  dojiot,  flatter,  and 
Therein  beti6T(Ttn~emselves :  I  say  again, 
In  soothing  them,  we  nourish  'gainst  our  senate 
The  cockle  of  rebellion,  insolence,  sedition,  70 

Which  we  ourselves  have  plough'd  for,  sow'd,  and  scatter'd, 
By  mingling  them  with  us,  the  honour'd  number, 
Who  lack  not  virtue,  no,  nor  power,  but  that 
Which  they  have  given  to  beggars. 

Men.  Well,  no  more. 

First  Sen.  No  more  words,  we  beseech  you. 

Cor.  How !  no  more  \ 

As  for  my  country  I  have  shed  my  blood, 


42  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Not  fearing  outward  force,  so  shall  my  lungs 
Coin  words  till  their  decay  against  those  measles, 
Which  we  disdain  should  tetter  us,  yet  sought 
The  very  way  to  catch  them. 

Bru.  You  speak  o'  th'  people,        80 

As  if  you  were  a  god  to  punish,  not 
A  man  of  their  infirmity. 

Sic.  'T  were  well 

We  let  the  people  know 't. 

Men.  What,  what?  his  choler? 

Cor.  Choler! 
Were  I  as  patient  as  the  midnight  sleep, 
By  Jove,  't  would  be  my  mind ! 

Sic.  It  is  a  mind 

That  shall  remain  a  poison  where  it  is, 
Not  poison  any  further. 

Cor.  Shall  remain ! 

Hear  you  this  Triton  of  the  minnows?  mark  you 
His  absolute  'shall'? 

Com.  'T  was  from  the  canon. 

Cor.  'Shall!'         90 

O  good  but  most  unwise  patricians  !  why, 
You  grave  but  reckless  senators,  have  you  thus 
Given  Hydra  here  to  choose  an  officer, 
That  with  his  peremptory  '  shall',  being  but 
The  horn  and  noise  o'  th'  monster's,  wants  not  spirit 
To  say  he  '11  turn  your  current  in  a  ditch, 
And  make  your  channel  his?     If  he  have  power, 
Then  vail  your  ignorance ;  if  none,  awake 
Your  dangerous  lenity.     If  you  are  learn'd, 
Be  not  as  common  fools ;  if  you  are  not,  100 

Let  them  have  cushions  by  you.    You  are  plebeians, 
If  they  be  senators:  and  they  are  no  less, 
When,  both  your  voices  blended,  the  great'st  taste 
Most  palates  theirs.     They  choose  their  magistrate, 
And  such  a  one  as  he,  who  puts  his  '  shall1, 
His  popular  '  shall ',  against  a  graver  bench 
Than  ever  frown'd  in  Greece  !    By  Jove  himself! 
It  makes  the  consuls  base:  and  my  soul  aches 
To  know,  when  two  authorities  are  up, 

Neither  supreme,  how  soon  confusion  1 10 

May  enter  'twixt  the  gap  of  both  and  take 
The  one  by  th'  other. 

Com.  Well,  on  to  the  market-place. 

Cor.  Whoever  gave  that  counsel,  to  give  forth 


Scene  x.]  CORIOLANUS.  43 

The  corn  o'  th'  storehouse  gratis,  as  't  was  used 
Sometime  in  Greece, — 

Men.  Well,  well,  no  more  of  that. 

Cor.  Though  there  the  people  had  more  absolute  power, 
I  say,  they  nourish'd  disobedience,  fed 
The  ruin  of  the  state. 

Bru.  Why,  shall  the  people  give 

One  that  speaks  thus  their  voice? 

Cor.  I  '11  give  my  reasons, 

More  worthier  than  their  voices.     They  know  the  corn      120 
Was  not  our  recompense,  resting  well  assured 
They  ne'er  did  service  for't:  being  press'd  to  th'  war, 
Even  when  the  navel  of  the  state  was  touch'd, 
They  would  not  thread  the  gates.     This  kind  of  service 
Did  not  deserve  corn  gratis.     Being  i'  th'  war, 
Their  mutinies  and  revolts,  wherein  they  show'd 
Most  valour,  spoke  not  for  them:  th'  accusation 
Which  they  have  often  made  against  the  senate, 
All  cause  unborn,  could  never  be  the  motive 
Of  our  so  frank  donation.     Well,  what  then?  130 

How  shall  this  bisson  multitude  digest 
The  senate's  courtesy?    Let  deeds  express 
What's  like  to  be  their  words:  'We  did  request  it; 
We  are  the  greater  poll,  and  in  true  fear 
They  gave  us  our  demands'.     Thus  we  debase 
The  nature  of  our  seats  and  Wake  the  rabble 
Call  our  cares  fears;  J  which  will  in  time 
Break  ope  the  locks  o'  th'  senate  and  bring  in 
The  crows  to  peck  the  eagles. 

Men.  Come,  enough. 

Bru.  Enough,  with  over-measure. 

Cor.  No,  take  more:         140 

What  may  be  sworn  by,  both  divine  and  human, 
Seal  what  I  end  withal !     This  double  worship, 
Where  one  part  does  disdain  with  cause,  the  other 
Insult  without  all  reason;  where  gentry,  title,  wisdom, 
Cannot  conclude  but  by  the  yea  and  no 
Of  general  ignorance, — it  must  omit 
Real  necessities,  and  give  way  the  while 
To  unstable  slightness:  purpose  so  barr'd,  it  follows, 
Nothing  is  done  to  purpose.     Therefore,  beseech  you, — 
You  that  will  be  less  fearful  than  discreet.  1 50 

That  love  the  fundamental  part  of  state 
More  than  you  doubt  the  change  on 't,  that  prefer 
A  noble  life  before  a  long,  and  wish 


44  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

To  jump  a  body  with  a  dangerous  physic 

That  5s  sure  of  death  without  it,  at  once  pluck  out 

The  multitudinous  tongue;  let  them  not  lick 

The  sweet  which  is  their  poison:  your  dishonour 

Mangles  true  judgment  and  bereaves  the  state 

Of  that  integrity  which  should  become  it, 

Not  having  the  power  to  do  the  good  it  would,  160 

For  th'  ill  which  doth  control 't. 

Bru.  'Has  said  enough. 

Sic.  'Has  spoken  like  a  traitor,  and  shall  answer 
As  traitors  do. 

Cor.  Thou  wretch,  despite  o'erwhelm  thee ! 
What  should  the  people  do  with  these  bald  tribunes? 
On  whom  depending,  their  obedience  fails 
To  th'  greater  bench:  in  a  rebellion, 
When  what 's  not  meet,  but  what  must  be,  was  law, 
Then  were  they  chosen:  in  a  better  hour, 
Let  what  is  meet  be  said  it  must  be  meet,  170 

And  throw  their  power  i:  th'  dust. 

Bru.  Manifest  treason ! 

Sic.  This  a  consul?  no. 

Bru.  The  aediles,  ho ! 

Enter  an  iEdile. 

Let  him  be  apprehended. 

Sic.  Go,  call  the  people:  [Exit  jEdile\  in  whose  name  myself 
Attach  thee  as  a  traitorous  innovator, 
A  foe  to  th'  public  weal :  obey,  I  charge  thee, 
And  follow  to  thine  answer. 

Cor.  Hence,  old  goat ! 

Senators,  fac.  We  '11  surety  him. 

Com.  Aged  sir,  hands  off. 

Cor.  Hence,  rotten  thing!  or  I  shall  shake  thy  bones 
Out  of  thy  garments. 

Sic.  Help,  ye  citizens !  180 

Enter  a  rabble  of  Citizens  {Plebeians),  with  the  ^Ediles. 

Men.  On  both  sides  more  respect. 

Sic.  Here's  he  that  would  take  from  you  all  your  power. 

Bru.  Seize  him,  aediles ! 

Citizens.  Down  with  him !  down  with  him ! 

Senators,  Qr'c.  Weapons,  weapons,  weapons ! 

[They  all  bustle  about  Coriolanus,  crying 
'Tribunes!'  'Patricians!'  'Citizens!'  'What,  ho!' 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  45 

'Sicinius!'  '  Brutus!'  'Coriolanus!'  *  Citizens!' 
*  Peace,  peace,  peace!'  'Stay,  hold,  peace!' 

Men.  What  is  about  to  be?     I  'm  out  of  breath ; 
Confusion 's  near;  I  cannot  speak.     You,  tribunes  190 

To  th'  people !     Coriolanus,  patience ! 
Speak,  good  Sicinius. 

Sic.  Hear  me,  people;  peace! 

Citizens.  Let's  hear  our  tribune:  peace!     Speak,  speak, 
speak. 

Sic.  You  are  at  point  to  lose  your  liberties: 
Marcius  would  have  all  from  you;  Marcius, 
Whom  late  you've  named  for  consul. 

Men.  Fie,  fie,  fie ! 

This  is  the  way  to  kindle,  not  to  quench. 

First  Sen.  T  unbuild  the  city  and  to  lay  all  flat. 

Sic.  What  is  the  city  but  the  people? 

Citizens.  True, 

The  people  are  the  city.  200 

Bru.  By  the  consent  of  all,  we  were  establish'd 
The  people's  magistrates. 

Citizens.  You  so  remain. 

Men.  And  so  are  like  to  do. 

Com.  That  is  the  way  to  lay  the  city  flat ; 
To  bring  the  roof  to  the  foundation, 
And  bury  all,  which  yet  distinctly  ranges, 
In  heaps  and  piles  of  ruin. 

Sic.  This  deserves  death. 

Bru.  Or  let  us  stand  to  our  authority, 
Or  let  us  lose  it.     We  do  here  pronounce, 
Upon  the  part  o'  th'  people,  in  whose  power  210 

We  were  elected  theirs,^  Marcius  is  worthy 
Of  present  death,  v 

Sic.  ^Therefore  lay  hold  of  him; 

Bear  him  to  th'  rock  Tarpeian,  and  from  thence 
Into  destruction  cast  him. 

Bru.  iEdiles,  seize  him ! 

Citizens.  Yield,  Marcius,  yield! 

Men.  Hear  me  one  word; 

Beseech  you,  tribunes,  hear  me  but  a  word. 

jEd.  Peace,  peace ! 

Men.  [To  Brutus]  Be  that  you  seem,  truly  your  country's 
friend, 
And  temperately  proceed  to  what  you  would 
Thus  violently  redress. 

Bru.  Sir,  those  cold  ways,  220 


46  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

That  seem  like  prudent  helps,  are  very  poisonous 
Where  the  disease  is  violent.     Lay  hands  upon  him, 
And  bear  him  to  the  rock. 

Cor.  No,  I  '11  die  here.         [Drawing  his  sword. 

There's  some  among  you  have  beheld  me  fighting: 
Come,  try  upon  yourselves  what  you  have  seen  me. 

Men.  Down  with  that  sword !    Tribunes,  withdraw  awhile. 

Bru.  Lay  hands  upon  him. 

Men.  Help  Marcius,  help, 

You  that  be  noble;  help  him,  young  and  old! 

Citizens.  Down  with  him,  down  with  him ! 

[In  this  mutiny,  the  Tribunes,  the  ^Ediles^ 
and  the  People,  are  beat  in. 

Men.  Go,  get  you  to  your  house;  be  gone,  away!  230 

All  will  be  naught  else. 

Sec.  Sen.  Get  you  gone. 

Cor.  Stand  fast; 

We  have  as  many  friends  as  enemies. 

Men.  Shall  it  be  put  to  that? 

First  Sen.  The  gods  forbid  ! 

I  prithee,  noble  friend,  home  to  thy  house; 
Leave  us  to  cure  this  cause. 

Men.  For  't  is  a  sore  upon  us 

You  cannot  tent  yourself:  be  gone,  beseech  you. 

Com.  Come,  sir,  along  with  us. 

Cor.  I  would  they  were  barbarians — as  they  are, 
Though  in  Rome  litter'd — not  Romans — as  they  are  not, 
Though  calved  i'   th'  porch  o'  th'  Capitol — 

Men.  Be  gone;        240 

Put  not  your  worthy  rage  into  your  tongue; 
One  time  will  owe  another. 

Cor.  On  fair  ground 

I  could  beat  forty  of  them. 

Men.  I  could  myself 

Take  up  a  brace  o'  th'  best  o'  'em ;  yea,  the  two  tribunes. 

Com.  But  now  'tis  odds  beyond  arithmetic; 
And  manhood  is  call'd  foolery,  when  it  stands 
Against  a  falling  fabric.     Will  you  hence, 
Before  the  tag  return?  whose  rage  doth  rend 
Like  interrupted  waters  and  o'erbear 
What  they  are  used  to  bear. 

Men.  Pray  you,  be  gone:  250 

I  '11  try  whether  my  old  wit  be  in  request 
With  those  that  have  but  little:  this  must  be  patch'd 
With  cloth  of  any  colour. 


Scene  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  47 

Com.  Nay,  come  away. 

[Exeunt  Coriolanus,  Cominius,  and  others. 

A  Patrician.  This  man  has  marr'd  his  fortune. 

Men.  His  nature  is  too  noble  for  the  world: 
He  would  not  flatter  Neptune  for  his  trident, 
Or  Jove  for's  power  to  thunder.     His  heart's  his  mouth: 
What  his  breast  forges,  that  his  tongue  must  vent; 
And,  being  angry,  does  forget  that  ever  259 

He  heard  the  name  of  death.  [A  noise  within. 

Here  's  goodly  work ! 

Sec.  Pat.  I  would  they  were  a-bed ! 

Men.  I  would  they  were  in  Tiber !    What  the  vengeance ! 
Could  he  not  speak  'em  fair? 

Re-enter  Brutus  and  SiciniUs,  with  the  rabble. 

Sic.  Where  is  this  viper 

That  would  depopulate  the  city  and 
Be  every  man  himself? 

Men.  You  worthy  tribunes, — 

Sic.  He  shall  be  thrown  down  the  Tarpeian  rock 
With  rigorous  hands:  he  hath  resisted  law, 
And  therefore  law  shall  scorn  him  further  trial 
Than  the  severity  of  the  public  power 
Which  he  so  sets  at  nought. 

First  Cit.  He  shall  well  know  270 

The  noble  tribunes  are  the  people's  mouths, 
And  we  their  hands. 

Citizens.  He  shall,  sure  on 't. 

Men.'  Sir,  sir,— 

Sic.  Peace! 

Men.  Do  not  cry  havoc,  where  you  should  but  hunt 
With  modest  warrant. 

Sic.  Sir,  how  comes 't  that  you 

Have  holp  to  make  this  rescue? 

Men.  Hear  me  speak: 

As  I  do  know  the  consul's  worthiness, 
So  can  I  name  his  faults, — 

Sic.  Consul!  what  consul? 

Men.  The  consul  Coriolanus. 

Bru.  He  consul  i 

Citizens.  No,  no,  no,  no,  no.  280 

Men.  If,  by  the  tribunes'  leave,  and  yours,  good  people, 
I  may  be  heard,  I  'Id  crave  a  word  or  two ; 
The  which  shall  turn  you  to  no  further  harm 
Than  so  much  loss  of  time. 

(M415)  B 


48  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Sic.  Speak  briefly  then; 

For  we  are  peremptory  to  dispatch 
This  viperous  traitor:  to  eject  him  hence 
Were  but  one  danger,  and  to  keep  him  here 
Our  certain  death:  therefore  it  is  decreed 
He  dies  to-night. 

Men.  Now  the  good  gods  forbid 

That  our  renowned  Rome,  whose  gratitude  290 

Towards  her  deserved  children  is  enroll'd 
In  Jove's  own  book,  like  an  unnatural  dam 
Should  now  eat  up  her  own ! 

Sic.  He's  a  disease  that  must  be  cut  away. 

Men.  O,  he 's  a  limb  that  has  but  a  disease ; 
Mortal,  to  cut  it  off;  to  cure  it,  easy. 
What  has  he  done  to  Rome  that's  worthy  death? 
Killing  our  enemies,  the  blood  he  'th  lost — 
Which,  I  dare  vouch,  is  more  than  that  he  hath, 
By  many  an  ounce — he  dropp'd  it  for  his  country ;  300 

And  what  is  left,  to  lose  it  by  his  country, 
Were  to  us  all,  that  do 't  and  suffer  it, 
A  brand  to  th'  end  o'  th'  world. 

Sic.  This  is  clean  kam. 

Bru.  Merely  awry :  when  he  did  love  his  country, 
It  honour'd  him. 

Sic.  The  service  of  the  foot 

Being  once  gangrened,  is  not  then  respected 
For  what  before  it  was. 

Bru.  We  '11  hear  no  more. 

Pursue  him  to  his  house,  and  pluck  him  thence ; 
Lest  his  infection,  being  of  catching  nature, 
Spread  further. 

Men.  One  word  more,  one  word.  310 

This  tiger-footed  rage,  when  it  shall  find 
The  harm  of  unscann'd  swiftness,  will  too  late 
Tie  leaden  pounds  to 's  heels.     Proceed  by  process ; 
Lest  parties,  as  he  is  beloved,  break  out, 
And  sack  great  Rome  with  Romans. 

Bru.  If 't  were  so, — 

Sic.  What  do  ye  talk? 
Have  we  not  had  a  taste  of  his  obedience? 
Our  aediles  smote?  ourselves  resisted?    Come. 

Men.  Consider  this :  he  has  been  bred  i'  th'  wars 
Since  he  could  draw  a  sword,  and  is  ill  school'd  320 

In  bolted  language ;  meal  and  bran  together 
He  throws  without  distinction.     Give  me  leave, 


Scene  2.]  CORIOLANUS.  49 

I  '11  go  to  him,  and  undertake  to  bring  him 
Where  he  shall  answer,  by  a  lawful  form, 
In  peace,  to's  utmost  peril. 

First  Sen.  Noble  tribunes, 

It  is  the  humane  way :  the  other  course 
Will  prove  too  bloody,  and  the  end  of  it 
Unknown  to  the  beginning.^. 

Sic.  Noble  Menenius, 

Be  you  then  as  the  people's  officer^ 
Masters,  lay  down  your  weapons' 

Bru.  Go  not  home.  330 

Sic.  Meet  on  the  market-place.     We  '11  attend  you  there : 
Where,  if  you  bring  not  Marcius,  we  '11  proceed 
In  our  first  way. 

'    Men.  I  '11  bring  him  to  you. 

[To  the  Senators']  Let  me  desire  your  company:  he  must  come, 
Or  what  is  worst  will  follow. 

First  Sen.  Pray  you,  let's  to  him.    [Exeunt. 

Scene  II.     A  room  in  Coriolanufs  house. 
Enter  Coriolanus  with  Patricians. 

Cor.  Let  them  pull  all  about  mine  ears,  present  me 
Death  on  the  wheel  or  at  wild  horses'  heels, 
Or  pile  ten  hills  on  the  Tarpeian  rock, 
That  the  precipitation  might  down  stretch 
Below  the  beam  of  sight,  yet  will  I  still 
Be  thus  to  them. 

A  Patrician.      You  do  the  nobler. 

Cor.  T  miKP  rpy  m^fV»^ 

Does  not  approve  me  further,  who  was  wont 
l!o  call  them  woollen  vassals,  things  created 
To  buy  and  sell  with  groats,  to  show  bare  heads  10 

In  congregations,  to  yawn,  be  still  and  wonder, 
When  one  but  of  my  ordinance  stood  up 
To  speak*  of  peace  or  war. 

Enter  Volumnia. 
I  talk  of  you : 
Why  did  you  wish  me  milder?  would  you  have  me 
False  to  my  nature?    Rather  say  I  play 
The  man  I  am. 

Vol.  O,  sir,  sir,  sir, 

I  would  have  had  you  put  your  power  well  on, 
Before   you  'd  worn  it  out. 


SO  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Cor.  Let  go. 

Vol.  You  might  have  been  enough  the  man  you  are, 
With  striving  less  to  be  so :  ^lesser  had  been  20 

The  thwartings  of  your  dispositions,  if 
You  had  not  show'd  them  how  ye  were  disposed 
Ere  they  lack'd  power  to  cross  youj 

Cor.  J  Let  them  hang. 

Vol.  Ay,  and  burn  too. 

Enter  Menenius  and  Senators. 

Men.  Come,  come,  you  've  been  too  rough,  something  too 
rough ; 
You  must  return  and  mend  it. 

First  Sen.  There 's  no  remedy ; 

Unless,  by  not  so  doing,  our  good  city 
Cleave  in  the  midst,  and  perish. 

Vol.  Pray,  be  counsell'd : 

I  have  a  heart  as  little  apt  as  yours, 

But  yet  a  brain  that  leads  my  use  of  anger  30 

To  better  vantage. 

Men.  Well  said,  noble  woman ! 

Before  he  should  thus  stoop  to  th'  herd,  but  that 
The  violent  fit  o'  th'  time  craves  it  as  physic 
For  the  whole  state,  I  'Id  put  mine  armour  on, 
Which  I  can  scarcely  bear. 

Cor.  What  must  I  do? 

Men.  Return  to  th'  tribunes. 

Cor.  Well,  what  then?  what  then? 

Men.  Repent  what  you  have  spoke. 

Cor.  For  them  1*1  cannot  do  it  to  the  gods^ 
Must  I  then  do't  to  them? 

Vol.  YQU^ar^jtflflwibsalute ; 

Though  therein  you  can  never  be  too  noble,  40 

But  when  extremities  speak,    *!  've  heard  you  say, 
Honour  and  policy,  like  unsever'd  friends, 
P  th'  war  do  grow  together \\ grant  that,  and  tell  me, 
In  peace  what  each  of  themoy  th'  other  lose, 
That  they  combine  not  there. 

Cor.  Tush,  tush ! 

Men.  A  good  demand. 

Vol.  If  it  be  honour  in  your  wars  to  seem 
The  same  you  are  not,  which,  for  your  best  ends, 
You  adopt  your  policy,  how  is  it  less  or  worse, 
That  it  shall  hold  companionship  in  peace 
With  honour,  as  in  war,  since  that  to  both  5° 


Scene  a.]  CORIOLANUS.  51 

It  stands  in  like  request? 

Cor.  Why  force  you  this? 

Vol.  Because  that  now  it  lies  you  on  to  speak 
To  th'  people ;  not  by  your  own  instruction, 
Nor  by  the  matter  which  your  heart  prompts  you, 
But  with  such  words  that  are  but  roted  in 
Your  tongue,  though  but  bastards  and  syllables 
Of  no  allowance  to  your  bosom's  truth. 
Now,<this  no  more  dishonours  you  at  all 
Than  to  take  in  a  town  with  gentle  wordsj 
Which  else  would  put  you  to  your  fortune  and  60 

The  hazard  of  much  blood. 
I  would  dissemble  with  my  nature  where 
My  fortunes  and  my  friends  at  stake  required 
\  should  do  so  in  honour :  U  am  in  this, 
Your  wife,  your  son,  these  senators,  the  nobles; 
And  you  will  rather  show  our  general  louts 
How  you  can  frown  than  spend  a  fawn  upon  'em, 
For  the  inheritance  of  their  loves  and  safeguard 
Of  what  that  want  might  ruin. 

Men.  Noble  lady ! 

Come,  go  with  us ;  speak  fair:  you  may  salve  so,  70 

Not  what  is  dangerous  present,  but  the  loss 
Of  what  is  past. 

Vol.  I  prithee  now,  my  son, 

Go  to  them,  with  this  bonnet  in  thy  hand; 
And  thus  far  having  stretch'd  it — here  be  with  them — 
Thy  knee  bussing  the  stones — for  in  such  business 
Action  is  eloquence,  and  th'  eyes  of  th'  ignorant 
More  learned  than  the  ears — waving  thy  head, 
Which  often,  thus,  correcting  thy  stout  heart, 
Now  humble  as  the  ripest  mulberry 

That  will  not  hold  the  handling!:  or  say  to  them,  80 

Thou  art  their  soldier,  and  being  bred  in  broils 
Hast  not  the  soft  way  which,  thou  dost  confess, 
Were  fit  for  thee  to  use  as  they  to  claim, 
In  asking  their  good  loves,  but  thou  wilt  frame 
Thyself,  forsooth,  hereafter  theirs,  so  far 
As  thou  hast  power  and  person. 

Men.  This  but  done, 

Even  as  she  speaks,  why,  their  hearts  were  yours ; 
For  they  have  pardons,  being  ask'd,  as  free 
As  words  to  little  purpose. 

Vol.  Prithee  now, 

Go,  and;be  ruled :  although  I  know  thou  'dst  rather  90 


52  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Follow  thine  enemy  in  a  fiery  gulf 

Than  flatter  him  in  a  bower.     Here  is  Cominius. 

Enter  Cominius. 

Com.  I  've  been  i'  th'  market-place  ;  and,  sir,  't  is  fit 
You  make  strong  party,  or  defend  yourself 
By  calmness  or  by  absence :  all 's  in  anger. 

Men.  Only  fair  speech. 

Com.  I  think  \  will  serve,  if  he 

Can  thereto  frame  his  spirit. 

Vol.  He  must,  and  will. 

Prithee  now,  say  you  will,  and  go  about  it. 

Cor.  Must  I  go  show  them  my  unbarb'd  sconce?  TMust  I 
With  my  base  tongue  give  to  my  noble  heart  ioo 

A  lie  that  it  must  bear?J  Well,  I  will  do't: 
Yet,  were  there  but  this  single  plot  to  lose, 
This  mould  of  Marcius,  they  to  dust  should  grind  it 
And  throw 't  against  the  wind.     To  th'  market-place  t 
You  've  put  me  now  to  such  a  part  which  never 
I  shall  discharge  to  th'  life. 

Com.  Come,  come,  we'll  prompt  you. 

Vol.  I  prithee  now,  sweet  son,  as  thou  hast  said 
» My  praises  made  thee  first  a  soldier,  so, 
To  have  my  praise  for  this,perform  a  part 
Thou  hast  not  done  beforeJj 

Cor.  Well,  I  must  do 't :  1 10 

Away,  my  disposition,  and  possess  me 
Some  harlot's  spirit !  my  throat  of  war  be  turn'd, 
Which  quired  with  my  drum,  into  a  pipe 
Small  as  an  eunuch,  or  the  virgin  voice 
That  babies  lulls  asleep !  the  smiles  of  knaves 
Tent  in  my  cheeks,  and  schoolboys'  tears  take  up 
The  glasses  of  my  sight !  a  beggar's  tongue 
Make  motion  through  my  lips,  and  my  arm'd  knees, 
Who  bow'd  but  in  my  stirrup,  bend  like  his 
That  hath  received  an  alms!  I  will  not  do  it,  120 

Lest  I  surcease  to  honour  mine  own  truth 
And  by  my  body's  action  teach  my  mind 
A  most  inherent  baseness. 

Vol.  At  thy  choice,  then: 

«To  beg  of  thee,  it  is  my  more  dishonour 
Than  thou  of  themj  Come  a^l  to  ruin ;  let 
Thy  mother  rather  feel  thy  pride  than  fear 
Thy  dangerous  stoutness,  for  I  mock  at  death 
With  as  big  heart  as  thou.     Do  as  thou  list. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  53 

Thy  valiantness  was  mine,  thou  suck'dst  it  from  me, 
But  owe  thy  pride  thyself. 

Cor.  Pray,  be  content :  130 

Mother,  I  'm  going  to  the  market-place ; 
Chide  me  no  more.     I  '11  mountebank  their  loves, 
Cog  their  hearts  from  them,  and  come  home  beloved 
Of  all  the  trades  in  Rome.     Look,  I  am  going : 
Commend  me  to  my  wife.     I  '11  return  consul ; 
Or  never  trust  to  what  my  tongue  can  do 
I'  th'  way  of  flattery  further. 

Vol.  Do  your  will.  {Exit. 

Com.  Away !  the  tribunes  do  attend  you :  arm  yourself 
To  answer  mildly ;  for  they  are  prepared 
With  accusations,  as  I  hear,  more  strong  140 

Than  are  upon  you  yet. 

Cor.  The  word  is  'mildly'.     Pray  you,  let  us  go: 
Let  them  accuse  me  by  invention,  I 
Will  answer  in  mine  honour. 

Men.  Ay,  but  mildly. 

Cor.  Well,  mildly  be 't  then.     Mildly !  [Exeunt. 

* 

Scene  III.     The  same.     The  Forum. 

Enter  Sicinius  and  Brutus. 

Bru.  In  this  point  charge  him  home,^that  he  affects 
Tyrannical  powerj^  if  he  evade  us  there, 
Enforce  him  with  his  envy  to  the  people, 
And  that  the  spoil  got  on  the  Antiates 
Was  ne'er  distributed. 

Enter  an  ^Edile. 

What,  will  he  come? 

AUd.  He's  coming. 

Bru.  How  accompanied? 

jEd.  With  old  Menenius,  and  those  senators 
That  always  favour'd  him. 

Sic.  Have  you  a  catalogue 

Of  all  the  voices  that  we  have  procured 
Set  down  by  th'  poll? 

AZcL  I  have ;  't  is  ready.  IO 

Sic.  Have  you  collected  them  by  tribes? 

jEd.  I  have. 

Sic.  Assemble  presently  the  people  hither; 
And  when  they  hear  me  say  i  It  shall  be  so 


54  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

V  th'  right  and  strength  o'  th'  commons ',  be  it  either 
For  death,  for  fine,  or  banishment,  then  let  them, 
If  I  say  fine,  cry  '  Fine';  if  death,  cry  '  Death'. 
Insisting  on  the  old  prerogative 
And  power  i'  th'  truth  o'  th'  cause. 

JEd.  I  shall  inform  them. 

Bru.  And  when  such  time  they  have  begun  to  cry, 
Let  them  not  cease,  but  with  a  din  confused  20 

Enforce  the  present  execution 
Of  what  we  chance  to  sentence. 

j£d.  Very  well. 

Sic.  Make  them  be  strong  and  ready  for  this  hint, 
When  we  shall  hap  to  give 't  them. 

Bru.  Go  about  it.  {Exit  ^Edile. 

Put  him  to  choler  straight :  he  hath  been  used 
Ever  to  conquer,  and  to  have  his  worth 
Of  contradiction  :*being  once  chafed,  he  cannot 
Be  rein'd  again  to  temperance  jithen  he  speaks 
What 's  in  his  heart ;  and  that  is  there  which  looks 
With  us  to  break  his  neck. 

Sic.  Well,  here  he  comes.  30 

Enter  Coriolanus,  Menenius,  and  Cominius,  with 
Senators  and  Patricians. 

Men.  Calmly,  I  do  beseech  you. 

Cor.  Ay,  as  an  ostler,  that  for  the  poor'st  piece 
Will  bear  the  knave  by  th'  volume.      The  honour'd  gods 
Keep  Rome  in  safety,  and  the  chairs  of  justice 
Supplied  with  worthy  men !  plant  love  among 's ! 
Throng  our  large  temples  with  the  shows  of  peace, 
And  not  our  streets  with  war ! 

First  Sen.  Amen,  amen. 

Men.  A  noble  wish. 

Re-enter  ^Edile,  with  Citizens. 

Sic.  Draw  near,  ye  people. 

AZd.  List  to  your  tribunes.    Audience !  peace,  I  say !      40 

Cor.  First,  hear  me  speak. 

Both  Tri.  Well,  say.     Peace,  ho ! 

Cor.  Shall  I  be  charged  no  further  than  this  present? 
Must  all  determine  here? 

Sic.  I  do  demand, 

If  you  submit  you  to  the  people's  voices, 
Allow  their  officers  and  are  content 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  55 

To  suffer  lawful  censure  for  such  faults 
As  shall  be  proved  upon  you? 

Cor.  I  am  content. 

Men.  Lo,  citizens,  he  says  he  is  content : 
The  warlike  service  he  has  done,  consider;  think 
Upon  the  wounds  his  body  bears,  which  show  50 

Like  graves  i'  th'  holy  churchyard. 

Cor.  Scratches  with  briers, 

Scars  to  move  laughter  only. 

Men.  Consider  further, 

That  when  he  speaks  not  like  a  citizen, 
You  find  him  like  a  soldier :  do  not  take 
His  rougher  accents  for  malicious  sounds, 
But,  as  I  say,  such  as  become  a  soldier, 
Rather  than  envy  you. 

Com.  Well,  well,  no  more. 

Cor.  What  is  the  matter 
That  being  pass'd  for  consul  with  full  voice, 
I  'm  so  dishonour^  that  the  very  hour  60 

You  take  it  off  again? 

Sic.  Answer  to  us. 

Cor.   Say,  then :  't  is  true,  I  ought  so. 

Sic.  We  charge  you,  that  you  have  contrived  to  take 
From  Rome  all  season'd  office  and  to  wind 
Yourself  into  a  power  tyrannical 
For  which  you  are  a  traitor  to  the  people. 

Cor.  How!  traitor! 

Men.  Nay,  temperately;  your  promise. 

Cor.  The  fires  i'  th'  lowest  hell  fold-in  the  people ! 
Call  me  their  traitor !    Thou  injurious  tribune ! 
Within  thine  eyes  sat  twenty  thousand  deaths,  70 

In  thy  hands  clutch'd  as  many  millions,  in 
Thy  lying  tongue  both  numbers,  I  would  say 
'Thou  liest'  unto  thee  with  a  voice  as  free 
As  I  do  pray  the  gods. 

Sic.  Mark  you  this,  people? 

Citizens.  To  th'  rock,  to  th'  rock  with  him ! 

Sic.  Peace  I 

We  need  not  put  new  matter  to  his  charge : 
What  you  have  seen  him  do  and  heard  him  speak, 
Beating  your  officers,  cursing  yourselves, 
Opposing  laws  with  strokes  and  here  defying 
Those  whose  great  power  must  try  him ;  even  this,  80 

So  criminal  and  in  such  capital  kind, 
Deserves  the  extremest  death. 


56  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

Bru.  But  since  he  hath 

Served  well  for  Rome, — 

Cor.  What  do  you  prate  of  service? 

Bru.  I  talk  of  that,  that  know  it. 

Cor.  You? 

MenXls  this  the  promise  that  you  made  your  mother ?j 

Com.  Know,  I  pray  you, — 

Cor.  I  '11  know  no  further : 

Let  them  pronounce  the  steep  Tarpeian  death, 
Vagabond  exile,  flaying^pent  to  linger 

But  with  a  grain  a  day,  I  would  not  buy  9a 

Their  mercy  at  the  price  of  one  fair  wordj 
Nor  check  my  courage  for  what  they  can  give, 
To  have 't  with  saying  'Good  morrow'. 

Sic.  For  that  he  has, 

As  much  as  in  him  lies,  from  time  to  time 
Envied  against  the  people,  seeking  means 
To  pluck  away  their  power,  as  now  at  last 
Given  hostile  strokes,  and  that  not  in  the  presence 
Of  dreaded  justice,  but  on  the  ministers 
That  doth  distribute  it ;  i'  th'  name  o'  th'  people 
And  in  the  power  of  us  the  tribunes,  we,  ioo> 

Even  from  this  instant,  banish  him  our  city, 
In  peril  of  precipitation 
From  off  the  rock  Tarpeian  never  more 
To  enter  our  Rome  gates :  i'  th'  people's  name, 
I  say  it  shall  be  so. 

Citizens.  It  shall  be  so,  it  shall  be  so;  let  him  away: 
He 's  banish'd,  and  it  shall  be  so. 

Com.  Hear  me,  my  masters,  and  my  common  friends, — 

Sic.  He 's  sentenced ;  no  more  hearing. 

Com.  Let  me  speak : 

I  have  been  consul,  and  can  show  for  Rome  no 

Her  enemies'  marks  upon  me.     I  do  love 
My  country's  good  with  a  respect  more  tender, 
More  holy  and  profound,  than  mine  own  life, 
My  dear  wife's  estimate,  her  womb's  increase, 
And  treasure  of  my  loins ;  then  if  I  would 
Speak  that, — 

Sic.  We  know  your  drift :  speak  what? 

Bru.  There 's  no  more  to  be  said,  but  he  is  banish'd 
As  enemy  to  the  people  and  his  country: 
It  shall  be  so. 

Citizens.  It  shall  be  so,  it  shall  be  so. 

Cor.  You  common  cry  of  curs  !\whose  breath  I  hate      120 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  57 

As  reek  o'  th'  rotten  fens,  whose  loves  I  prize 

As  the  dead  carcasses  of  unburied  men 

That  do  corrupt  my  air,  I  banish  you ; 

And  here  remain  with  your  uncertainty ! 

Let  every  feeble  rumour  shake  your  hearts ! 

Your  enemies,  with  nodding  of  their  plumes, 

Fan  you  into  despair !     Have  the  power  stiH 

To  banish  your  defenders ;  till  at  length 

Your  ignorance,  which  finds  not  till  it  feels, 

Making  but  reservation  of  yourselves,  130 

Still  your  own  foes,  deliver  you  as  most 

Abated  captives  to  some  nation 

That  won  you  without  blows  !   '  Despising, 

For  you,  the  city,  thus  I  turn  my  backjj 

There  is  a  world  elsewhere. 

[Exeunt  Coriolanus,  Cominius,  Menenius,  Senators,  and 
Patricians. 

jEd.  The  people's  enemy  is  gone,  is  gone ! 

Citizens.  Our  enemy  is  banish'd !  he  is  gone !     Hoo !  hoo ! 
[They  all  shout,  and  throw  up  their  caps. 

Sic.  Go,  see  him  out  at  gates,  and  follow  him, 
As  he  hath  follow'd  you,  with  all  despite ; 
Give  him  deserved  vexation.     Let  a  guard  140 

Attend  us  through  the  city. 

Citizens.  Come,  come ;  let 's  see  him  out  at  gates ;  come, 
come. 
The  gods  preserve  our  noble  tribunes !    Come.        [Exeunt. 


ACT  IV. 

Scene*.    Rome.    Before  agate  of  the  city. 

Enter  Coriolanus,  Volumnia,  Virgilia,  Menenius, 
Cominius,  with  the  young  Nobility  of  Rome. 

Cor.  Come,  leave  your  tears :  a  brief  farewell :  the  beast 
With  many  heads  butts  me  away.  *  Nay,  mother, 
Where  is  your  ancient  courage?! you  were  used 
To  say  extremities  was  the  trier  of  spirits; 
That  common  chances  common  men  could  bear; 
That  when  the  sea  was  calm  all  boats  alike 
Show'd  mastership  in  floating;  fortune's  blows, 
When  most  struck  home,  being  gentle  wounded,  craves 
A  noble  cunning:  (you  were  used  to  load  me 


58  GORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

With  precepts  that  would  make  invincible  id 

The  heart  that  conn'd  themj 

Vir.  O  heavens !  O  heavens  I 

Cor.  i        Nay,  I  prithee,  woman, — 

Vol.  Now  the  red  pestilence  strike  all  trades  in  Rome, 
And  occupations  perish ! 

Cor.  What,  what,  what ! 

U  shall  be  loved  when  I  am  lack'd.     Nay,  mother, 
Resume  that  spirit,  when  you  were  wont  to  say, 
If  you  had  been  the  wife  of  Hercules, 
Six  of  his  labours  you  'Id  have  done,  and  saved 
Your  husband  so  much  sweat.     Cominiusr 
Droop  not;  adieu.     Farewell,  my  wife,  my  mother:  20 

I  '11  do  well  yet.     Thou  old  and  true  Menenius, 
Thy  tears  are  Salter  than  a  younger  man's, 
And  venomous  to  thine  eyes.     My  sometime  general, 
I  Ve  seen  thee  stern,  and  thou  hast  oft  beheld 
Heart-hardening  spectacles ;  tell  these  sad  women 
'T  is  fond  to  wail  inevitable  strokes, 
As  't  is  to  laugh  at  'em.     My  mother,  you  wot  well 
My  hazards  still  have  bee*n  your  solace :  and 
Believe 't  not  lightly — though  I  go  alone, 
Like  to  a  lonely  dragon,  that  his  fen  30 

Makes  fear'd  and  talk'd  of  more  than  seen — your  son 
Will  or  exceed  the  common  or  be  caught 
With  cautelous  baits  and  practice. 

Vol.  My  first  son, 

Whither  wilt  thou  go?    Take  good  Cominius 
With  thee  awhile :  determine  on  some  course, 
More  than  a  wild  exposture  to  each  chance 
That  starts  i'  th'  way  before  thee. 

Cor.  O  the  gods ! 

Com.  I  '11  follow  thee  a  month,  devise  with  thee 
Where  thou  shalt  rest,  that  thou  mayst  hear  of  us 
And  we  of  thee:  so  if  the  time  thrust  forth  40 

A  cause  for  thy  repeal,  we  shall  not  send 
O'er  the  vast  world  to  seek  a  single  man, 
And  lose  advantage,  which  doth  ever  cool 
P  th'  absence  of  the  needer. 

Cor.  Fare  ye  well : 

Thou  'st  years  upon  thee ;  and  thou  art  too  full 
Of  the  wars'  surfeits,  to*  go  rove  with  one 
That 's  yet  unbruised :  bring  me  but  out  at  gate. 
Come,  my  sweet  wife,  my  dearest  mother,  and 
My  friends  of  noble  touch,  when  I  am  forth, 


Scene  2.]  CORIOLANUS.  59 

Bid  me  farewell,  and  smile.     I  pray  you,  come.  50 

While  I  remain  above  the  ground,  you  shall 
Hear  from  me  still,  and  never  of  me  aught 
But  what  is  like  me  formerly. 

Men.  That 's  worthily 

As  any  ear  can  hear.     Come,  let 's  not  weep. 
If  I  could  shake  off  but  one  seven  years 
From  these  old  arms  and  legs,  by  the  good  gods, 
I  'Id  with  thee  every  foot. 

Cor.  Give  me  thy  hand : 

Come.  .      [Exeunt. 

Scene  II.     The  same.    A  street  near  the  gate. 
Enter  Sicinius,  Brutus,  and  an  iEdile. 

Sic.  Bid  them  all  home ;  he 's  gone,  and  we  '11  no  further. 
Th'  nobility  are  vex'd,  whom  we  see  've  sided 
In  his  behalf. 

Bru.  Now  we  have  shown  our  power, 

Let  us  seem  humbler  after  it  is  done 
Than  when  it  was  a-doing. 

Sic.  Bid  them  home; 

Say  their  great  enemy  is  gone,  and  they 
Stand  in  their  ancient  strength. 

Bru.  Dismiss  them  home.  [Exit  ALdile. 

Here  comes  his  mother. 

Sic.  Let 's  not  meet  her. 

Bru.  Why? 

Sic.  They  say  she 's  mad. 

Bru.  They  have  ta'en  note  of  us :  keep  on  your  way.       10 

Enter  Volumnia,  Virgilia,  and  Menenius. 

Vol.  O,  ye  're  well  met  •)  the  hoarded  plague  o'  th'  gods 
Requite  your  love! 

Men.  Peace,  peace ;  be  not  so  loud. 

Vol.  If  that  I  could  for  weeping,  you  should  hear, — 
Nay,  and  you  shall  hear  some.     [To  Brutus']  Will  you  be 
gone? 

Vir.  [To  Sicinius']  You  shall  stay  too:  I  would  I  had  the 
power 
To  say  so  to  my  husband. 

Sic.  Are  you  mankind? 

Vol.  Ay,  fool ;  is  that  a  shame?    Note  but  this  fool. 
Was  not  a  man  my  father?     Hadst  thou  foxship 


60  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

To  banish  him  that  struck  more  blows  for  Rome 
Than  thou  hast  spoken  words? 

Sic.  O  blessed  heavens  ?  20 

Vol.  Moe  noble  blows  than  ever  thou  wise  words ; 
And  for  Rome's  good.     I  '11  tell  thee  what ;  yet  go : 
Nay,  but  thou  shalt  stay  too:  I  would  my  son 
Were  in  Arabia,  and  thy  tribe  before  him, 
His  good  sword  in  his  hand. 

Sic.  What  then? 

Vir.  What  then ! 

He  'Id  make  an  end  of  thy  posterity. 

Vol.  Bastards  and  all. 
Good  man,  the  wounds  that  he  does  bear  for  Rome ! 

Men.  Come,  come,  peace. 

Sic.  I  would  he  had  continued  to  his  country  30 

As  he  began,  and  not  unknit  himself 
The  noble  knot  he  made. 

Bru.  I  would  he  had. 

Vol.  '  I  would  he  had!'    'Twas  you  incensed  the  rabble: 
Cats,  that  can  judge  as  fitly  of  his  worth 
As  I  can  of  those  mysteries  which  heaven 
Will  not  have  earth  to  know. 

Bru.  Pray,  let  us  go. 

Vol.  Now,  pray,  sir,  get  you  gone  : 
You  've  done  a  brave  deed.     Ere  you  go,  hear  this : — 
As  far  as  doth  the  Capitol  exceed 

The  meanest  house  in  Rome,  so  far  my  son —  40 

This  lady's  husband  here^-this,  do  you  see — 
Whom  you  have  banish'd,  does  exceed  you  all. 

Bru.  Well,  well,  we  '11  leave  you. 

Sic.  Why  stay  we  to  be  baited 

With  one  that  wants  her  wits? 

Vol.  Take  my  prayers  with  you. 

[Exeunt  Tribunes. 
I  would  the  gods  had  nothing  else  to  do 
But  to  confirm  my  curses !     Could  I  meet  'em 
But  once  a-day,  it  would  unclog  my  heart 
Of  what  lies  heavy  to 't. 

Men.  You  've  told  them  home ; 

And,  by  my  troth,  you've  cause.     You'll  sup  with  me? 

Vol.  Anger 's  my  meat ;  I  sup  upon  myself,  50 

And  so  shall  starve  with  feeding.     Come,  let's  go: 
Leave  this  faint  puling  and  lament  as  I  do, 
In  anger,  Juno-like.     Come,  come,  come. 

Men.  Fie,  fie,  fie!  [Exeunt. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  61 

Scene  III.    A  highway  between  Rome  and  Antium. 
Enter  a  Roman  and  a  Volsce,  meeting. 

Rom.  I  know  you  well,  sir,  and  you  know  me:  your  name, 
I  think,  is  Adrian. 

Vols.  It  is  so,  sir:  truly,  I  have  forgot  you. 

Rom.  I  am  a  Roman;  and  my  services  are,  as  you  are, 
against  'em:  know  you  me  yet? 

Vols.  Nicanor?  no. 

Rom.  The  same,  sir. 

Vols.  You  had  more  beard  when  I  last  (saw  you;  but  your 
favour  is  well  approved  by  your  tongue.  What's  the  news  in 
'Rome?  I  have  a  note  from  the  Volscian  state,  to  find  you 
out  there:  you  have  well  saved  me  a  day's  journey.  1 1 

Rom.  There  hath  been  in  Rome  strange  insurrections;  the 
people  against  the  senators,  patricians,  and  nobles. 

Vols.  Hath  been!  is  it  ended,  then?  Our  state  thinks  not 
so:  they  are  in  a  most  warlike  preparation,  and  hope  to  come 
upon  them  in  the  heat  of  their  division. 

Rom.  The  main  blaze  of  it  is  past,  but  a  small  thing  would 
make  it  flame  again  :*Tor  the  nobles  receive  so  to  heart  the 
banishment  of  that  worthy  Coriolanus,  that  they  are  in  a  ripe 
aptness  to  take  all  power  from  the  people  and  to  pluck  from 
them  their  tribunes  for  ever.l  This  lies  glowing,  I  can  tell 
you,  and  is  almost  mature  for  the  violent  breaking  out.        22 

Vols.  Coriolanus  banished ! 

Rom.  Banished,  sir. 

Vols.  You  will  be  welcome  with  this  intelligence,  Nicanor. 

Rom.  The  day  serves  well  for  them  now.  u  have  heard  it 
said,  the  fittest  time  to  corrupt  a  man's  wife  is  when  she 's 
fallen  out  with  her  husband^  Your  noble  Tullus  Aufidius  will 
appear  well  in  these  wars,  his  great  opposer,  Coriolanus,  being 
now  iri  no  request  of  his  country.  3° 

Vols.  He  cannot  choose.  I  am  most  fortunate,  thus  acci- 
dentally to  encounter  you:  you  have  ended  my  business,  and 
I  will  merrily  accompany  you  home. 

Rom.  I  shall,  between  this  and  supper,  tell  you  most  strange 
things  from  Rome ;  all  tending  to  the  good  of  their  adversaries. 
Have  you  an  army  ready,  say  you? 

Vols.  A  most  royal  one;  the  centurions  and  their  charges, 
distinctly  billeted,  already  in  the  entertainment,  and  to  be  on 
foot  at  an  hour's  warning.  39 

Rom.  I  am  joyful  to  hear  of  their  readiness,  and  am  the 


62  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

man,  I  think,  that  shall  set  them  in  present  action.  So,  sir, 
heartily  well  met,  and  most  glad  of  your  company. 

Vols.  You  take  my  part  from  me,  sir;  I  have  the  most 
cause  to  be  glad  of  yours. 

Rom.  Well,  let  us  go  together.  [Exeunt 


Scene  IV.    Antium.    Before  Aufidius's  house. 

Enter  CORIOLANUS  in  mean  apparel,  disguised  and  muffled. 

Cor.  A  goodly  city  is  this  Antium.    City, 
'T  is  I  that  made  thy  widows:  many  an  heir 
Of  these  fair  edifices  'fore  my  wars 
Have  I  heard  groan  and  drop:  then  know  me  not, 
Lest  that  thy  wives  with  spits  and  boys  with  stones 
In  puny  battle  slay  me. 

Enter  a  Citizen. 

Save  you,  sir. 

Cit.  And  you. 

Cor.  Direct  me,  if  it  be  your  will, 

Where  great  Aufidius  lies:  is  he  in  Antium? 

Cit.  He  is,  and  feasts  the  nobles  of  the  state 
At 's  house  this  night. 

Cor.  Which  is  his  house,  beseech  you?  10 

Cit.  This,  here  before  you. 

Cor.  Thank  you,  sir;  farewell.        [Exit  Citizen. 

0  world,  thy  slippery  turns !    Friends  now  fast  sworn, 
Whose  double  bosoms  seems  to  wear  one  heart, 
Whose  hours,  whose  bed,  whose  meal,  and  exercise, 
Are  still  together,  who  twin,  as  't  were,  in  love 
Unseparable,  shall  within  this  hour, 

On  a  dissension  of  a  doit,  break  out 

To  bitterest  enmity:  so,  fellest  foes, 

Whose  passions  and  whose  plots  have  broke  their  sleep 

To  take  the  one  the  other,  by  some  chance,  20 

Some  trick  not  worth  an  e^,  shall  grow  dear  friends 

And  interjoin  their  issues.  *bo  with  me: 

My  birth-place  hate  I,  and  my  love's  upon 

This  enemy  townj    I  '11  enter:  if  he  slay  me, 

He  does  fair  justjcei Jihe-gwe  miPway, 

1  'II  do  his  country  service.  [Exit. 


Scene  5.]  CORIOLANUS.  63 

SCENE  V.     The  same.    A  hall  in  Aufidiufs  house. 
Music  within.    Enter  a  Servingman. 

First  Serv.  Wine,  wine,  wine !  What  service  is  here !  I 
think  our  fellows  are  asleep.  {Exit. 

Enter  a  second  Servingman. 

Sec.  Serv.  Where 's  Cotus?  my  master  calls  for  him.  Cotus ! 

[Exit. 
Enter  Coriolanus. 

Cor.  A  goodly  house:  the  feast  smells  well;  but  I 
Appear  not  lijce  a  guest. 

Re-enter  the  first  Servingman. 

First  Serv.  What  would  you  have,  friend?  whence  are  you? 
Here's  no  place  for  you:  pray,  go  to  the  door.  [Exit. 

Cor.  I  have  deserved  no  better  entertainment, 
In  being  Coriolanus.  9 

Re-enter  second  Servingman. 

Sec.  Serv.  Whence  are  you,  sir?  Has  the  porter  his  eyes 
in  his  head,  that  he  gives  entrance  to  such  companions?  Pray, 
get  you  out. 

Cor.  Away! 

Sec.  Serv.  Away !  get  you  away. 

Cor.  Now  thou  'rt  troublesome. 

Sec.  Serv.  Are  you  so  brave?  I  '11  have  you  talked  with 
anon. 

Enter  a  third  Servingman.     The  first  meets  him. 

Third  Serv.  What  fellow's  this? 

First  Serv.  A  strange  one  as  ever  I  looked  on:  I  cannot 
get  him  out  o'  th'  house :  prithee,  call  my  master  to  him.    20 

[Retires. 

Third  Serv.  What  have  you  to  do  here,  fellow?  Pray  you, 
avoid  the  house. 

Cor.  Let  me  but  stand;  I  will  not  hurt  your  hearth. 

Third  Serv.  What  are  you? 

Cor.  A  gentleman. 

Third  Serv.  A  marvellous  poor  one. 

Cor.  True,  so  I  am. 

Third  Serv.  Pra/syou,  poor  gentleman,  take  up  some  other 
station;  here's  no  plafce  for  you;  pray  you,  avoid  :  come. 

i  M  415  )  V 

I 


64  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

Cor.  Follow  your  function,  go,  and  batten  on  cold  bits.  30 

{Pushes  him  away. 

Third  Serv.  What,  you  will  not  ?     Prithee,  tell  my  master 
what  a  strange  guest  he  has  here. 

Sec.  Serv.  And  I  shall.  [Exit. 

Third  Serv.  Where  dwellest  thou? 

Cor.  Under  the  canopy. 

Third  Serv.  Under  the  canopy ! 

Cor.  Ay. 

Third  Serv.  Where's  that? 

Cor.  V  th'  city  of  kites  and  crows. 

Third  Serv.  V  th'  city  of  kites  and  crows !    What  an  ass 
it  is !     Then  thou  dwellest  with  daws  too?  41 

Cor.  No,  I  serve  not  thy  master. 

Third  Serv.  How,  sir!  do  you  meddle  witn  my  master? 

Cor.  Ay;  ^t  is  an  honester  service  than  to  meddle  with  thy 
mistress^ 
Thou  pfatest,  and  pratest;  serve  with  thy  trencher,  hence! 

{Beats  him  away.    Exit  third  Servingman. 

Enter  Aufidius  with  the  second  Servingman. 

Auf  Where  is  this  fellow? 

Sec.  Serv.  Here,  sir:  I  'Id  have  beaten  him  like  a  dog,  but 
for  disturbing  the  lords  within.  [Retires. 

Auf.  Whence  comest  thou?  what  wouldest  thou?  thy  name? 
Why  speak'st  not?  speak,  man:  what's  thy  name?  51 

Cor.  [Unmuffling]  If,  Tullus, 
Not  yet  thou  knowest  me,  and,  seeing  me,  dost  not 
Think  me  for  th'  man  I  am,  necessity 
Commands  me  name  myself. 

Auf.  What  is  thy  name? 

Cor.  A  name  unmusical  to  the  Volscians'  ears, 
And  harsh  in  sound  to  thine. 

Auf  Say,  what's  thy  name? 

Thou  hast  a  grim  appearance,  and  thy  face 
Bears  a  command  in 't ;  though  thy  tackle 's  torn, 
Thou  show'st  a  noble  vessel :  what's  thy  name?  60 

Cor.  Prepare  thy  brow  to  frown:  know'st  thou  me  yet? 

Auf.  I  know  thee  not:  thy  name? 

Cor.  My  name  is  Caius  Marcius,  who  hath  done 
To  thee  particularly  and  t'  all  the  Volsces 
Great  hurt  and  mischief;  thereto  witness  may 
My  surname,  Coriolanus :  the  painful  service, 
The  extreme  dangers  and  the  drops  of  blood 
Shed  for  my  thankless  country  are  requited 


Scene  5.]  CORIOLANUS.  65 

But  with  that  surname ;  a  good  memory, 

And  witness  of  the  malice  and  displeasure  70 

Which  thou  shouldst  bear  me :  only  that  name  remains ; 

The  cruelty  and  envy  of  the  people, 

Permitted  by  our  dastard  nobles,  who 

Have  all  forsook  me,  hath  devour'd  the  rest ; 

And  surTer'd  me  by  th'  voice  of  slaves  to  be 

Whoop'd  out  of  Rome.     Now  this  extremity 

Hath  brought  me  to  thy  hearth ;  not  out  of  hope — 

Mistake  me  not — to  save  my  life,  for  if 

I  had  fear'd  death,  of  all  the  men  i'  th'.  world 

I  would  have  Voided  thee,  but  in  mere  spite,  80 

To  be  full  quit  of  those  my  banishers, 

Stand  I  before  thee  here.     Then  if  thou  hast 

A  heart  of  wreak  in  thee,  that  wilt  revenge 

Thine  own  particular  wrongs  and  stop  those  maims 

Of  shame  seen  through  thy  country,  speed  thee  straight, 

And  make  my  misery  serve  thy  turn :\so  use  it 

That  my  revengeful  services  may  prove 

As  benefits  to  thee,  for  I  will  fight 

Against  my  canker'd  country  with  the  spleen 

Of  all  the  under  fiends^  But  if  so  be  90 

Thou  darest  not  this,  and  that  to  prove  more  fortunes 

Thou  'rt  tired,  then,  in  a  word,  I  also  am 

Longer  to  live  most  weary,  and  present 

My  throat  to  thee  and  to  thy  ancient  malice ; 

Which  not  to  cut  would  show  thee  but  a  fool, 

Since  I  have  ever  follow'd  thee  with  hate, 

Drawn  tuns  of  blood  out  of  thy  country's  breast, 

And  cannot  live  but  to  thy  shame,  unless 

It  be  to  do  thee  service. 

Auf.  O  Marcius,  Marcius ! 

^Each  word  thou  'st  spoke  hath  weeded  from  my  heart       100 
A  root  of  ancient  envy.  ',  If  Jupiter 
Should  from  yond  cloud  speak  divine  things,  and  say 
"T  is  true',  I 'Id  not  believe  them  more  than  thee, 
All  noble  Marcius.     Let  me  twine 
Mine  arms  about  thy  body,  where  against 
My  grained  ash  an  hundred  times  hath  broke, 
And  scarr'd  the  moon  with  splinters :  here  I  clip 
The  anvil  of  my  sword,  and  do  contest 
As  hotly  and  as  nobly  with  thy  love 

As  ever  in  ambitious  strength  I  did  1 10 

Contend  against  thy  valour.     Know  thou  first, 
I  loved  the  maid  I  married ;  never  man 


66  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

Sigh'd  truer  breath ;  but  that  I  see  thee  here, 

Thou  noble  thing !  more  dances  my  rapt  heart 

Than  when  I  first  my  wedded  mistress  saw 

Bestride  my  threshold.     Why,  thou  Mars !  I  tell  thee, 

We  have  a  power  on  foot ;  and  I  had  purpose 

Once  more  to  hew  thy  target  from  thy  brawn, 

Or  lose  mine  arm  for 't :  thou  hast  beat  me  out 

Twelve  several  times,  and  XhaYSJlightiy  since  120 

Dreamt  of  encounters  'twixt  thyself  and  me; 

We  have  been  down  together  in  my  sleep, 

Unbuckling  helms,  fisting  each  other's  throat, 

And  waked  half  dead  with  nothing.     Worthy  Marcius, 

Had  we  no  quarrel  else  to  Rome,  but  that 

Thou  art  thence  banish'd,  we  would  muster  all 

From  twelve  to  seventy,  and  pouring  war 

Into  the  bowels  of  ungrateful  Rome, 

Like  a  bold  flood  o'er-beat.     O,  come,  go  in, 

And  take  our  friendly  senators  by  the  hands ;  1 30 

Who  now  are  here,  taking  their  leaves  of  me, 

Who  am  prepared  against  your  territories, 

Though  not  for  Rome  itself. 

Cor.  You  bless  me,  gods ! 

Auf.  Therefore,  most  absolute  sir,  if  thou  wilt  have 
The  leading  of  thine  own  revenges,  take 
Th'  one  half  of  my  commission ;  and  set  down — 
As  best  thou  art  experienced,  since  thou  know'st 
Thy  country's  strength  and  weakness, — thine  own  ways ; 
Whether  to  knock  against  the  gates  of  Rome, 
Or  rudely  visit  them  in  parts  remote,  140 

To  fright  them,  ere  destroy.     But  come  in : 
Let  me  commend  thee  first  to  those  that  shall 
Say  yea  to  thy  desires.     A  thousand  welcomes ! 
And  more  a  friend  than  e'er  an  enemy; 
Yet,  Marcius,  that  was  much.    Your  hand :  most  welcome ! 
{Exeunt  Coriolanus  and  Aufidius.     The  two  Serving- 
men  come  forward. 

First  Serv.  Here's  a  strange  alteration! 

Sec.  Serv.  By  my  hand,  I  had  thought  to  have  stroken 
him  with  a  cudgel ;  and  yet  my  mind  gave  rne  his  clothes 
made  a  false  report  of  him. 

First  Serv.  What  an  arm  he  has !  he  turned  me  about  with 
his  finger  and  his  thumb,  as  one  would  set  up  a  top.  151 

Sec.  Serv.  Nay,  I  knew  by  his  face  that  there  was  some- 
thing in  him :  he  had,  sir,  a  kind  of  face,  methought, — I  can- 
not tell  how  to  term  it. 


Scene  5.]  CORIOLANUS.  67 

First  Serv.  He  had  so;  looking  as  it  were — would  I  were 
hanged,  but  I  thought  there  was  more  in  him  than  I  could 
think. 

Sec.  Serv.  So  did  I,  I  '11  be  sworn :  he  is  simply  the  rarest 
man  i'  th'  world. 

First  Serv.  I  think  he  is:  but  a  greater  soldier  than  he 
you  wot  on.  161 

Sec.  Serv.  Who,  my  master? 

First  Serv.  Nay,  it 's  no  matter  for  that. 

Sec.  Serv.  Worth  six  on  him. 

First  Serv.  Nay,  not  so  neither:  but  I  take  him  to  be  the 
greater  soldier.  . 

Sec.  Serv.  Faith,  look  you,  one  cannot  tell  how  to  say  that: 
for  the  defence  of  a  town,  our  general  is  excellent. 
'  First  Serv.  Ay,  and  for  an  assault  too. 

Re-enter  third  Servingman. 

Third  Serv.  O  slaves,  I  can  tell  you  news,  —  news,  you 
rascals!  171 

First  and  Sec.  Serv.  What,  what,  what  ?  let 's  partake. 

Third  Serv.  I  would  not  be  a  Roman,  of  all  nations ;  I  had 
as  lief  be  a  condemned  man. 

First  and  Sec.  Serv.  Wherefore?  wherefore? 

Third  Serv.  Why,  here 's  he  that  was  wont  to  thwack  our 
general,  Caius  Marcius. 

First  Serv.  Why  do  you  say  '  thwack  our  general5? 

Third  Serv.  I  do  not  say  'thwack  our  general';  but  he 
was  always  good  enough  for  him.  180 

Sec.  Serv.  Come,  we  are  fellows  and  friends :  he  was  ever 
too  hard  for  him ;  I  have  heard  him  say  so  himself. 

First  Serv.  He  was  too  hard  for  him  directly,  to  say  the 
troth  on't:  before  Corioles  he  scotched  him  and  notched  him 
like  a  carbonado. 

Sec.  Serv.  An  he  had  been  cannibally  given,  he  might  have 
boil'd  and  eaten  him  too. 

First  Sen>.  But,  more  of  thy  news  ?  188 

Third  Serv.  Why,  he  is  so  made  on  here  within,  as  if  he 
were  son  and  heir  to  Mars ;  set  at  upper  end  o'  th'  table ;  no 
question  asked  him  by  any  of  the  senators,  but  they  stand 
bald  before  him :  Jour  general  himself  makes  a  mistress  of 
him  ;*^anctifies  himself  with's  hand  and  turns  up  the  white 
o'  th'  eye  to  his  discourse.  But  the  bottom  of  the  news  is, 
our  general  is  cut  i'  th'  middle  and  but  one  half  of  what  he 
was  yesterday ;  for  the  other  has  half,  by  the  entreaty  and 
grant  of  the  whole  table.     Hell  go,  he  says,  and  sowl  the 


68  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

porter  of  Rome  gates  by  th'  ears:  he  will  mow  all  down 
before  him,  and  leave  his  passage  polled.  199 

Sec.  Sen/.  And  he's  as  like  to  do't  as  any  man  I  can 
imagine. 

Third  Serv.  Do 't !  he  will  do 't ;  for,  look  you,  sir,  he  has 
as  many  friends  as  enemies;  which  friends,  sir,  as  it  were, 
durst  not,  look  you,  sir,  show  themselves,  as  we  term  it,  his 
friends  whilst  he 's  in  directitude. 

First  Serv.  Directitude!  what's  that? 

Third  Serv.  But  when  they  shall  see,  sir,  his  crest  up  again, 
and  the  man  in  blood,  they  will  out  of  their  burrows,  like  conies 
after  rain,  and  revel  all  with  him. 

First  Serv.  But  when  goes  this  forward?  210 

Third  Serv.  To-morrow;  to-day;  presently;  you  shall  have 
the  drum  struck  up  this  afternoon :  't  is,  as  it  were,  a  parcel  of 
their  feast,  and  to  be  executed  ere  they  wipe  their  lips. 

Sec.  Serv.  Why,  then  we  shall  have  a  stirring  world  again. 
This  peace  is  nothing,  but  to  rust  iron,  increase  tailors,  and 
breed  ballad-makers. 

First  Serv.  Let  me  have  war,  say  I ;  it  exceeds  peace  as 
far  as  day  does  night ;  it 's  sprightly,  waking,  audible,  and  full 
of  vent.  Peace  is  a  very  apoplexy,  lethargy;  mulled,  deaf, 
sleepy,  insensible ;  a  getter  of  more  bastard  children  than 
war's  a  destroyer  of  men.  221 

Sec.  Serv.  'T  is  so :  and  as  war,  in  some  sort,  may  be  said 
to  be  a  ravisher,  so  it  cannot  be  denied  but  peace  is  a  great 
maker  of  cuckolds. 

First  Serv.  Ay,  and  it  makes  men  hate  one  another. 

Third  Serv.  Reason ;  because  they  then  less  need  one 
another.  The  wars  for  my  money.  I  hope  to  see  Romans  as 
cheap  as  Volscians.     They  are  rising,  they  are  rising. 

All.  In,  in,  in,  in !  \Exeunt. 

Scene  VI.    Rome.    A  public  place 

Enter  Sicinius  and  Brutus. 

Sic.  We  hear  not  of  him,  neither  need  we  fear  him ; 
His  remedies  are  tame  i'  th'  present  peace 
And  quietness  o'  th'  people,  which  before 
Were  in  wild  hurry.     Here  do  we  make  his  friends 
Blush  that  the  world  goes  well,  who  rather  had, 
Though  they  themselves  did  suffer  by 't,  behold 
Dissentious  numbers  pestering  streets  than  see 
Our  tradesmen  singing  in  their  shops  and  going 
About  their  functions  friendly. 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  69 

Bru.  We  stood  to't  in  good  time.     {Enter  Menenius.]     Is 
this  Menenius?  10 

Sic.  T  is  he,  't  is  he :  0,  he  is  grown  most  kind  of  late. 

Both  Tri.  Hail,  sir ! 

Men.  Hail  to  you  both ! 

Sic.  Your  Coriolanus 

Is  not  much  miss'd,  but  with  his  friends : 
The  commonwealth  doth  stand,  and  so  would  do, 
Were  he  more  angry  at  it. 

Men.  All 's  well ;  and  might  have  been  much  better,  if  *  £> 
He  could  have  temporized.  tp 

Sic.  Where  is  he,  hear  you? 

Men.  Nay,  I  hear  nothing :  his  mother  and  his  wife 
Hear  nothing  from  him.  19 

Enter  three  or  four  Citizens. 

Citizens.  The  gods  preserve  you  both  ! 

Sic.  God-den,  our  neighbours. 

Bru.  God-den  to  you  all,  god-den  to  you  all. 

First  Cit.  Ourselves,  our  wives,  and  children,  on  our  knees, 
Are  bound  to  pray  for  you  both. 

Sic.  Live,  and  thrive ! 

Bru.  Farewell,  kind  neighbours :  we  wish'd  Coriolanus 
Had  loved  you  as  we  did. 

Citizens.  Now  the  gods  keep  you ! 

Both  Tri.  Farewell,  farewell.  [Exeunt  Citizens. 

Sic.  This  is  a  happier  and  more  comely  time 
Than  when  these  fellows  ran  about  the  streets, 
Crying  confusion. 

Bru.  Caius  Marcius  was 

A  worthy  officer  i'  th'  war ;  but  insolent,  ,  30 

O'ercome  with  pride,  ambitious  past  all  thinking, 
Self-loving, — 

Sic.  And  affecting  one  sole  throne, 

Without  assistance. 

Men.  I  think  not  so. 

Sic.  We  should  by  this,  to  all  our  lamentation, 
If  he  had  gone  forth  consul,  found  it  so. 

Bru.  The  gods  have  well  prevented  it,  and  Rome 
Sits  safe  and  still  without  him. 

Enter  an  ^Edile. 
JEd.  Worthy  tribunes, 

There  is  a  slave,  whom  we  have  put  in  prison, 
Reports,  the  Volsces  with  two  several  powers 


70  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

Are  enter'd  in  the  Roman  territories,  40 

And  with  the  deepest  malice  of  the  war 
Destroy  what  lies  before  'em. 

Men.  'T  is  Aufidius, 

Who,  hearing  of  our  Marcius'  banishment, 
Thrusts  forth  his  horns  again  into  the  world ; 
Which  were  inshell'd  when  Marcius  stood  for  Rome, 
And  durst  not  once  peep  out. 

Sic.  Come,  what  talk  you 

Of  Marcius? 

Bru.  Go  see  this  rumourer  whipp'd.     It  cannot  be 
The  Volsces  dare  break  with  us. 

Men.  Cannot  be ! 

We  have  record  that  very  well  it  can, 

And  three  examples  of  the  like  hath  been  50 

Within  my  age.     But  reason  with  the  fellow, 
Before  you  punish  him,  where  he  heard  this, 
Lest  you  shall  chance  to  whip  your  information 
And  beat  the  messenger  who  bids  beware 
Of  what  is  to  be  dreaded. 

Sic.  Tell  not  me : 

I  know  this  cannot  be. 

Bru.  Not  possible. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  The  nobles  in  great  earnestness  are  going 
All  to  the  senate-house :  some  news  is  coming 
That  turns  their  countenances. 

Sic.  'T  is  this  slave ; — 

Go  whip  him  'fore  the  people's  eyes : — his  raising ;  60 

Nothing  but  his  report.      • 

Mess.  Yes,  worthy  sir, 

The  slave's  report  is  seconded ;  and  more, 
More  fearful,  is  deliver'd. 

Sic.  What  more  fearful? 

Mess.  It  is  spoke  freely  out  of  many  mouths — 
How  probable  I  do  not  know-\that  Marcius, 
Join'd  with  Aufidius,  leads  a  power  'gainst  Rome,\ 
And  vows  revenge  as  spacious  as  between 
The  young^t  and  oldest  thing. 

Sic.  This  is  most  likely ! 

Bru.  Raised  only,  that  the  weaker  sort  may  wish 
Good  Marcius  home  again. 

Sic.  The  very  trick  on 't.  70 

Men.  This  is  unlikely : 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  71 

He  and  Aufidius  can  no  more  atone 
Than  violentest  contrariety. 

Enter  a  second  Messenger. 

Sec.  Mess.  You  're  sent  for  to  the  senate : 
A  fearful  army,  led  by  Caius  Marcius 
Associated  with  Aufidius,  rages 
Upon  our  territories ;  and  have  already 
O'erborne  their  way,  consumed  with  fire,  and  took 
What  lay  before  them.  79 

Enter  Cominius. 

Com.  O,  you  Ve  made  good  work ! 

Men.  What  news?  what  news? — 
'  Com.  You  've  holp  to  ravish  your  own  daughters  and 
To  melt  the  city  leads  upon  your  pates, 
To  see  your  wives  dishonour^  to  your  noses, — 

Men.  What 's  the  news  ?  what 's  the  news  ? 

Com.  Your  temples  burned  in  their  cement,  and 
Your  franchises,  whereon  you  stood,  confined 
Into  an  auger's  bore. 

Men.  Pray  now,  your  news? — 

You  've  made  fair  work,  I  fear  me. — Pray,  your  news? — 
If  Marcius  should  be  join'd  with  Volscians, — 

Com.  If! 

He  is  their  god :  he  leads  them  like  a  thing  90 

Made  by  some  other  deity  than  nature, 
That  shapes  man  better ;  and  they  follow  him, 
Against  us  brats,  with  no  less  confidence 
Than  boys  pursuing  summer  butterflies, 
Or  butchers  killing  flies.  » 

Men.  You  've  made  good  work, 

You  and  your  apron-men  ;  you  that  stood  so  much 
Upon  the  voice  of  occupation  and 
The  breath  of  garlic-eaters ! 

Com.  He  will  shake 

Your  Rome  about  your  ears. 

Men.  As  Hercules  99 

Did  shake  down  mellow  fruit.    You've  made  fair  work! 

Bru.  But  is  this  true,  sir? 

Com.  Ay ;  and  you  '11  look  pale 

Before  you  find  it  other.     All  the  regions 
Do  smilingly  revolt ;  and  who  resists 
Are  mock'd  for  valiant  ignorance, 
And  perish  constant  fools.    Who  is 't  can  blame  him? 


72  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

Your  enemies  and  his  find  something  in  him. 

Men.  We  're  all  undone,  unless 
The  noble  man  have  mercy. 

Com.  Who  shall  ask  it? 

The  tribunes  cannot  do 't  for  shame ;  the  people 
Deserve  such  pity  of  him  as  the  wolf  no 

Does  of  the  shepherds :  for  his  best  friends,  if  they 
Should  say  *  Be  good  to  Rome ',  they  charged  him  even 
As  those  should  do  that  had  deserved  his  hate, 
And  therein  show'd  like  enemies. 

Men.  'T  is  true : 

If  he  were  putting  to  my  house  the  brand 
That  should  consume  it,  I  have  not  the  face 
To  say  '  Beseech  you,  cease  '.     You  've  made  fair  hands, 
You  and  your  crafts !  you  Ve  crafted  fair ! 

Com.  You  've  brought 

A  trembling  upon  Rome,  such  as  was  never 
So  incapable  of  help. 

Both  Tri.  Say  not  we  brought  it.  120 

Men.  How !     Was  it  we?  we  loved  him ;  but,  like  beasts 
And  cowardly  nobles,  gave  way  unto  your  clusters, 
Who  did  hoot  him  out  o?  th'  city. 

Com.  But  I  fear 

They  '11  roar  him  in  again.     Tullus  Aufidius, 
The  second  name  of  men,  obeys  his  points 
As  if  he  were  his  officer :  desperation 
Is  all  the  policy,  strength  and  defence, 
That  Rome  can  make  against  them. 

Enter  a  troop  of  Citizens. 

Men.  Here  come  the  clusters. 

— And  is  Aufidius  with  him?— You  are  they 
That  made  the  air  unwholesome,  when  you  cast  1 30 

Your  stinking  greasy  caps  in  hooting  at 
Coriolanus'  exile.     Now  he 's  coming ; 
And  not  a  hair  upon  a  soldier's  head 
Which  will  not  prove  a  whip !  as  many  coxcombs 
As  you  threw  caps  up  will  he  tumble  down, 
And  pay  you  for  your  voicesj    T is  no  matter; 
If  he  could  burn  us  all  into  one  coal, 
We  have  deserved  it. 

Citizens.  Faith,  we  hear  fearful  news. 

First  Cit.  For  mine  own  part, 

When  I  said,  banish  him,  I  said,  'twas  pity.  140 

Sec.  Cit.  And  so  did  I. 


Scene  7.]  CORIOLANUS.  73 

Third  Cit.  And  so  did  I ;  and,  to  say  the  truth,  so  did  very 
many  of  us :  that  we  did,  we  did  for  the  best ;  and  though  we 
willingly  consented  to  his  banishment,  yet  it  was  against  our 
will. 

Com.  Ye  're  goodly  things,  you  voices ! 

Men.  You  have  made 

Good  work,  you  and  your  cry !     Shall 's  to  the  Capitol? 

Com.  O,  ay,  what  else? 

[Exeunt  Cominius  and  Menenius. 

Sic.  Go,  masters,  get  you  home ;  be  not  dismay'd : 
These  are  a  side  that  would  be  glad  to  have  1 50 

This  true  which  they  so  seem  to  fear.     Go  home, 
And  show  no  sign  of  fear. 

First  Cit.  The  gods  be  good  to  us !  Come,  masters,  let 's 
home.  I  ever  said  we  were  i'  the  wrong  when  we  banished 
him. 

Sec.  Cit.  So  did  we  all.     But,  come,  let 's  home. 

[Exeunt  Citizens. 

Bru.  I  do  not  like  this  news. 

Sic.  Nor  I. 

Bru.  Let 's  to  the  Capitol.     Would  half  my  wealth 
Would  buy  this  for  a  lie ' 

Sic.  Pray,  let  us  go.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  VII.    A  camp,  at  a  small  distance  from  Rome. 
Enter  Aufidius  and  his  Lieutenant. 

Auf.  Do  they  still  fly  to  th'  Roman? 

Lieu.  I  do  not  know  what  witchcraft 's  in  him,  but 
Your  soldiers  use  him  as  the  grace  'fore  meat, 
Their  talk  at  table,  and  their  thanks  at  end ; 
And  you  are  darken'd  in  this  action,  sir, 
Even  by  your  own. 

Auf.  I  cannot  help  it  now, 

Unless,  by  usingjpneans,  I  lame  the  foot 
Of  our  design.    VHe  bears  himself  more  proudlier, 
Even  to  my  person,  than  I  thought  he  would 
When  first  I  did  embrace  him  Jyet  his  nature  10 

In  that's  no  changeling;  and  I  must  excuse 
What  cannot  be  amended. 

Lieu.  Yet  I  wish,  sir, — 

I  mean  for  your  particular, — you  had  not 
Join'd  in  commission  with  him ;  but  either 
Had  borne  the  action  of  yourself,  or  else 


74  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV.  Sc.  7. 

To  him  had  left  it  solely. 

Auf.  I  understand  thee  well ;  and  be  thou  sure, 

When  he  shall  come  to  his  account,  he  knows  not 
What  I  can  urge  against  him.     Although  it  seems, 
And  so  he  thinks,  and  is  no  less  apparent 
To  th'  vulgar  eye,  that  he  bears  all  things  fairly,  20 

And  shows  good  husbandry  for  th'  Volscian  state, 
Fights  dragon-like,  and  does  achieve  as  soon 
As  draw  his  sword ;  yet  he  hath  left  undone 
That  which  shall  break  his  neck  or  hazard  mine, 
Whene'er  we  come  to  our  account. 

Lieu.  Sir,  I  beseech  you,  think  you  he'll  carry  Rome? 

Auf.  All  places  yields  to  him  ere  he  sits  down ; 
And  the  nobility  of  Rome  are  his : 
The  senators  and  patricians  love  him  too : 
The  tribunes  are  no  soldiers ;  and  their  people  50 

Will  be  as  rash  in  the  repeal,  as  hasty 
To  expel  him  thence.     I  think  he  '11  be  to  Rome 
As  is  the  osprey  to  the  fish,  who  takes  it 
By  sovereignty  of  nature.     First  he  was 
A  noble  servant  to  them ;  but  he  could  not 
Carry  his  honours  even :  whether  't  was  pride, 
Which  out  of  daily  fortune  ever  taints 
The  happy  man ;  whether  defect  of  judgment, 
To  fail  in  the  disposing  of  those  chances 
Which  he  was  lord  of;  or  whether  nature,  40 

Not  to  be  other  than  one  thing,  not  moving 
From  th'  casque  to  th'  cushion,  but  commanding  peace 
Even  with  the  same  austerity  and  garb 
As  he  controll'd  the  war ;  but  one  of  these, 
As  he  hath  spices  of  them  all, — not  all, 
For  I  dare  so  far  free  him — made  him  fear'd, 
So  hated,  and  so  banish'd :  but  he  has  a  merit, 
To  choke  it  in  the  utterance.     So  our  virtues 
Lie  in  th'  interpretation  of  the  time  : 

And  power,  unto  itself  most  commendable,  50 

Hath  not  a  tomb  so  evident  as  a  chair 
T  extol  what  it  hath  done. 
One  fire  drives  out  one  fire ;  one  nail,  one  nail ; 
Rights  by  rights  founder,  strengths  by  strengths  do  fail. 
Come,  let's  away.   WVhen,  Caius,  Rome  is  thine, 
Thou'rt  poor'st  of  all ;  then  shortly  art  thou  minej    [Exeunt. 


Act  V.  Sc.  i.]  CORIOLANUS.  75 

ACT  V. 

Scene  I.    Rome.    A  public  place. 
Enter  Menenius,  Cominius,  Sicinius,  Brutus,  and  others. 

Men.  No,  I  '11  not  go:  you  hear  what  he  hath  said 
Which  was  sometime  his  general;  who  loved  him 
In  a  most  dear  particular.     He  calFd  me  father: 
But  what  o'  that?    Go,  you  that  banish'd  him; 
A  mile  before  his  tent  fall  down,  and  knee 
The  way  into  his  mercy  $~hay,  if  he  co^d 
To  hear  Cominius  speak,  I  '11  keep  at  homej 

Com.  He  would  not  seem  to  know  me. 
>  Men.  Do  you  hear? 

Com.  Yet  one  time  he  did  call  me  by  my  name: 
I  urged  our  old  acquaintance,  and  the  drops  io 

That  we  have  bled  together.     Coriolanus 
He  would  not  answer  to:  forbad  all  names; 
He  was  a  kind  of  nothing,  titleless, 
Till  he  had  forged  himself  a  name  o'  th'  fire 
Of  burning  Rome. 

Men.  Why,  so:  you've  made  good  work! 

A  pair  of  tribunes  that  have  rack'd  for  Rome, 
To  make  coals  cheap, — a  noble  memory! 

Com.  I  minded  him  how  royal 't  was  to  pardon 
When  it  was  less  expected:  he  replied, 
It  was  a  bare  petition  of  a  state  20 

To  one  whom  they  had  punish'd. 

Men.  Very  well: 

Could  he  say  less? 

Com.  I  offer'd  to  awaken  iiis  regard 
For's  private  friends:  his  answer  to  me  was, 
He  could  not  stay  to  pick  them  in  a  pile 
Of  noisome  musty  chaff:  he  said  't  was  folly, 
For  one  poor  grain  or  two,  to  leave  unburnt, 
And  still  to  nose  th'  offence. 

Men.  For  one  poor  grain  or  two ! 

I  'm  one  of  those ;  his  mother,  wife,  his  child, 
And  this  brave  fellow  too,  we  are  the  grains:  30 

You  are  the  musty  chaff;  and  you  are  smelt 
Above  the  moon: \we  must  be  burnt  for  youJ 

Sic.  Nay,  pray,  be  patient:  if  you  refuse  your  aid 
In  this  so  never-needed  help,  yet  do  not 
Upbraid 's  with  our  distress.     But,  sure,  if  you 


76  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Would  be  your  country's  pleader,  your  good  tongue, 
More  than  the  instant  army  we  can  make, 
Might  stop  our  countryman. 

Men.  No,  I  '11  not  meddle. 

Sic.  Pray  you,  go  to  him. 

Men.  What  should  I  do? 

Bru.  Only  make  trial  what  your  love  can  do  40 

For  Rome,  towards  Marcius. 

Men.  Well,  and  say  that  Marcius 

Return  me,  as  Cominius  is  return'd, 
Unheard;  what  then? 
But  as  a  discontented  friend,  grief-shot 
With  his  unkindness?  say't  be  so? 

Sic.  Yet  your  good  will 

Must  have  that  thanks  from  Rome,  after  the  measure 
As  you  intended  well. 

Men.  I  '11  undertake 't : 

I  think  he  '11  hear  me.   *Yet,  to  bite  his  lip 
And  hum  at  good  Cominius,  much  unhearts  me.  \ 
He  was  not  taken  well;  he  had  not  dined:  50 

The  veins  unfiH'd,.our  blood  is  cold,  and  then 
We  pout  upon  the  morning,  are  unapt 
To  give  or  to  forgive;  but  when   we've  stufFd 
These  pipes  and  these  conveyances  of  our  blood 
With  wine  and  feeding,  we  have  suppler  souls 
Than  in  our  priest-like  fasts:  therefore  I  '11  watch  him 
Till  he  be  dieted  to  my  request, 
And  then  I  '11  set  upon  him. 

Bru.  You  know  the  very  road  into  his  kindness, 
And  cannot  lose  your  way. 

Men.  Good  faith,  I  '11  prove  him,        60 

Speed  how  it  will.     I  shall  ere  long  have  knowledge 
Of  my  success.  [Exit. 

Com.  He  '11  never  hear  him. 

Sic.  -  Not? 

Com.  I  tell  you,  he  does  sit  in  gold,  his  eye 
Red  as  'twould  burn  Rome^and  his  injury 
The  gaoler  to  his  pity.     I  kneel'd  before  him; 
'T  was  very  faintly  he  said  '  Rise';  dismiss'd  me 
Thus,  with  his  speechless  hand:  what  he  would  do, 
He  sent  in  writing  after  me,  what  he  would  not, 
Bound  with  an  oath  to  yield  to  his  conditions: 
So  that  all  hope  is  vain,  70 

Unless  his  noble  mother,  and  his  wife; 
Who,  as  I  hear,  mean  to  solicit  him 


Scene  2.]  CORIOLANUS.  77 

For  mercy  to  his  country.     Therefore,  let 's  hence, 

And  with  our  fair  entreaties  haste  them  on.  [Exeunt. 

SCENE  II.    Entrance  of  the  Volscian  camp  before  Rome. 
Two  Sentinels  on  guard. 

Enter  to  them  Menenius. 

First  Sen.  Stay:  whence  are  you? 

Sec.  Sen.  Stand,  and  go  back. 

Men.  You  guard  like  men;  'tis  well:  but,  by  your  leave, 
I  am  an  officer  of  state,  and  come 
To  speak  with  Coriolanus. 

First  Sen.  From  whence? 

*    Men.  From  Rome. 

First  Sen.  You  may  not  pass,  you  must  return:  our  general 
Will  no  more  hear  from  thence. 

Sec.  Sen.  You  '11  see  your  Rome  embraced  with  fire  before 
You  '11  speak  with  Coriolanus. 

Men.  Good  my  friends, 

If  you  have  heard  your  general  talk  of  Rome, 
And  of  his  friends  there,  it  is  lots  to  blanks,  10 

My  name  hath  touch'd  your  ears:  it  is  Menenius. 

First  Sen.  Be't  so;  go  back:  the  virtue  of  your  name 
Is  not  here  passable. 

Men.  I  tell  thee,  fellow, 

Thy  general  is  my  lover:  I  have  been 
The  book  of  his  good  acts,  whence  men  have  read 
His  fame  unparallel'd,  haply  amplified; 
For  I  have  ever  verified  my  friends, 
Of  whom  he's  chief,  with  all  the  size  that  verity 
Would  without  lapsing  suffer:  nay,  sometimes, 
Like  to  a  bowl  upon  a  subtle  ground,  20 

I  've  tumbled  past  the  throw ;  and  in  his  praise 
Have  almost  stamp'd  the  leasing:  therefore,  fellow, 
I  must  have  leave  to  pass. 

First  Sen.  Faith,  sir,  if  you  had  told  as  many  lies  in  his 
behalf  as  you  have  uttered  words  in  your  own,  you  should  not 
pass  here;  no,  though  it  were  as  virtuous  to  lie  as  to  live 
chastely.     Therefore,  go  back. 

Men.  Prithee,  fellow,  remember  my  name  is  Menenius, 
always  factionary  on  the  party  of  your  general.  29 

Sec.  Sen.  Howsoever  you  have  been  his  liar,  as  you  say 
you  have,  I  am  one  that,  telling  true  under  him,  must  say, 
you  cannot  pass.     Therefore,  go  back. 


78  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Men.  Has  he  dined,  canst  thou  tell?  for  I  would  not  speak 
with  him  till  after  dinner. 

First  Sen.  You  are  a  Roman,  are  you? 

Men.  I  am,  as  thy  general  is.  36 

First  Sen.  Then  you  should  hate  Rome,  as  he  does.  Can 
you,  when  you  have  pushed  out  your  gates  the  very  defender 
of  them,  and,  in  a  violent  popular  ignorance,  given  your  enemy 
your  shield,  think  to  front  his  revenges  with  the  easy  groans 
of  old  women,  the  virginal  palms  of  your  daughters,  or  with 
the  palsied  intercession  of  such  a  decayed  dotant  as  you  seem 
to  be?  Can  you  think  to  blow  out  the  intended  fire  your  city 
is  ready  to  flame  in,  with  such  weak  breath  as  this?  No,  you 
are  deceived ;  therefore,  back  to  Rome,  and  prepare  for  your 
execution :  you  are  condemned,  our  general  has  sworn  you  out 
of  reprieve  and  pardon. 

Men.  Sirrah,  if  thy  captain  knew  I  were  here,  he  would  use 
me  with  estimation. 

First  Sen.  Come,  my  captain  knows  you  not.  50 

Men.  I  mean,  thy  general. 

First  Sen.  My  general  cares  not  for  you.  Back,  I  say,  go; 
lest  I  let  forth  your  half-pint  of  blood;  back, — that's  the 
utmost  of  your  having:  back. 

Men.  Nay,  but,  fellow,  fellow, — 

Enter  Coriolanus  and  Aufidius. 

Cor.  What's  the  matter?  56 

Men.  Now,  you  companion,  I  '11  say  an  errand  for  you:  you 
shall  know  now  that  I  am  in  estimation;  you  shall  perceive 
that  a  Jack  guardant  cannot  office  me  from  my  son  Coriolanus: 
guess,  but  by  my  entertainment  with  him,  if  thou  standest  not 
i'  th'  state  of  hanging,  or  of  some  death  more  long  in  spec- 
tatorship,  and  crueller  in  suffering;  behold  now  presently,  and 
swoon  for  what's  to  come  upon  thee.  [To  Cor.]  The  glorious 
gods  sit  in  hourly  synod  about  thy  particular  prosperity,  and 
love  thee  no  worse  than  thy  old  father  Menenius  does !  O  my 
son,  my  son !  thou  art  preparing  fire  for  us;  look  thee,  here 's 
water  to  quench  it.  I  was  hardly  moved  to  come  to  thee;  but 
being  assured  none  but  myself  could  move  thee,  I  have  been 
blown  out  of  our  gates  with  sighs ;  and  conjure  thee  to  par- 
don Rome,  and  thy  petitionary  countrymen.  The  good  gods 
assuage  thy  wrath,  and  turn  the  dregs  of  it  upon  this  varlet 
here, — this,  who,  like  a  block,  hath  denied  my  access  to  thee. 

Cor.  Away!  73 

Men.  How!  away! 

Cor.  Wife,  mother,  child,  I  know  not.     My  affairs 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  79 

Are  servanted  to  others:  though  I  owe 

My  revenge  properly,  my  remission  lies 

In  Volscian  breasts.     That  we  have  been  familiar, 

Ingrate  forgetfulness  shall  poison,  rather 

Than  pity  note  how  much.     Therefore,  be  gone.  80 

Mine  ears  against  your  suits  are  stronger  than 

Your  gates  against  my  force.     Yet,  for  I  loved  thee, 

Take  this  along;  I  writ  it  for  thy  sake,  [Gives  a  letter. 

And  would  have  sent  it     Another  word,  Menenius, 

I  will  not  hear  thee  speak.     This  man,  Aufidius, 

Was  my  beloved  in  Rome:  yet  thou  behold'st ! 

Auf.  You  keep  a  constant  temper. 

[Exeunt  Coriolanus  and  Aufidius. 

First  Sen.  Now,  sir,  is  your  name  Menenius? 
,     Sec.  Sen.  'T  is  a  spell,  you  see,  of  much  power:  you  know 
the  way  home  again.  90 

First  Sen.  Do  you  hear  how  we  are  shent  for  keeping  your 
greatness  back? 

Sec.  Sen.  What  cause,  do  you  think,  I  have  to  swoon? 

Men.  I  neither  care  for  the  world  nor  your  general :  for  such 
things  as  you,  I  can  scarce  think  there 's  any,  ye  're  so  slight. 
He  that  hath  a  will  to  die  by  himself  fears  it  not  from  another: 
let  your  general  do  his  worst.  For  you,  be  that  you  are,  long; 
and  your  misery  increase  with  your  age !  I  say  to  you,  as  I 
was  said  to,  Away !  [Exit. 

First  Sen.  A  noble  fellow,  I  warrant  him.  100 

Sec.  Sen.  The  worthy  fellow  is  our  general:  he's  the  rock, 
the  oak  not  to  be  wind-shaken.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  III.     The  tent  of  Coriolanus. 
Enter  Coriolanus,  Aufidius,  and  others. 

Cor.  We  will  before  the  walls  of  Rome  to-morrow 
Set  down  our  host.     My  partner  in  this  action, 
You  must  report  to  th'  Volscian  lords,  how  plainly 
I  've  borne  this  business. 

Auf.  Only  their  ends 

You  have  respected;  stopp'd  your  ears  against 
The  general  suit  of  Rome;  never  admitted 
A  private  whisper,  no,  not  with  such  friends 
That  thought  them  sure  of  you. 

Cor.  This  last  old  man, 

Whom  with  a  crack'd  heart  I  have  sent  to  Rome, 
Loved  me  above  the  measure  of  a  father;  10 

Nay,  godded  me,  indeed.     Their  latest  refuge 

(M415)  a 


80  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Was  to  send  him;  for  whose  old  love  I  have, 

Though  I  show'd  sourly  to  him,  once  more  offer'd 

The  first  conditions,  which  they  did  refuse 

And  cannot  now  accept;  to  grace  him  only 

That  thought  he  could  do  more,  a  very  little 

I  've  yielded  to :  fresh  embassies  and  suits, 

Nor  from  the  state  nor  private  friends,  hereafter 

Will  I  lend  ear  to.     Ha!  what  shout  is  this?    {Shout  within. 

Shall  I  be  tempted  to  infringe  my  vow  20 

In  the  same  time  't  is  made?     I  will  not. 

Enter,  in  mourning  habits,  Virgilia,  VOLUMNIA,  leading 
young  Marcius,  Valeria,  and  Attendants. 

My  wife  comes  foremjst;  then  the  honour'd  mould 

Wherein  this  trunk  was  framed,  and  in  her  hand 

The  grandchild  to  her  blood.     But,  out,  affection ! 

All  bond  and  privilege  of  nature,  break ! 

Let  it  be  virtuous  to  be  obstinate. 

What  is  that  curt'sy  worth?  or  thosje  doves'  eyes, 

Which  can  make  gods  forsworn?     I  melt,  and  am  not 

Of  stronger  earth  than  othersj    My  mother  bows; 

As  if  Olympus  to  a  molehill  should  30 

In  supplication  nod:  and  my  young  boy 

Hath  an  aspect  of  intercession,  which 

Great  nature  cries  '  Deny  not'.     Let  the  Volsces 

Plough  Rome,  and  harrow  Italy:  I  '11  never 

Be  such  a  gosling  to  obey  instinct,  but  stand, 

As  if  a  man  were  author  of  himself 

And  knew  no  other  kin. 

Vir.  My  lord  and  husband ! 

Cor.  These  eyes  are  not  the  same  I  wore  in  Rome. 

Vir.  The  sorrow  that  delivers  us  thus  changed 
Makes  you  think  so. 

Cor.  Like  a  dull  actor  now,  40 

I  have  forgot  my  part,  and  I  am  out, 
Even  to  a  full  disgrace.     Best  of  my  flesh, 
Forgive  my  tyranny;  but  do  not  say 
For  that  '  Forgive  our  Romans'.     O,  a  kiss 
Long  as  my  exile,  sweet  as  my  revenge ! 
Now,  by  the  jealous  queen  of  heaven,  that  kiss 
I  carried  from  thee,  dear;  and  my  true  lip 
Hath  virgin'd  it  e'er  since.     You  gods !  I  prate, 
And  the  most  noble  mother  of  the  world  49 

Leave  unsaluted:  sink,  my  knee,  i'  th'  earth;  \Kneels. 

Of  thy  deep  duty  more  impression  show 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  81 

Than  that  of  common  sons. 

H?/.  O,  stand  up  blest ! 

Whilst,  with  no  softer  cushion  than  the  flint, 
I  kneel  before  thee;  and  unproperly 
Show  duty,  as  mistaken  all  this  while 
Between  the  child  and  parent.  [Kneels. 

Cor.  What  is  this? 

Your  knees  to  me?  to  your  corrected  son? 
Then  let  the  pebbles  on  the  hungry  beach 
Fillip  the  stars;  then  let  the  mutinous  winds 
Strike  the  proud  cedars  'gainst  the  fiery  sun;  60 

Murdering  impossibility,  to  make 
What  cannot  be,  slight  work. 

Vol.  Thou  art  my  warrior; 

I  holp  to  frame  thee.\  Do  you  know  this  lady? 

Cor.  The  noble  sister  of  Publicola, 
The  moon  of  Rome,  chaste  as  the  icicle 
That 's  curdied  by  the  frost  from  purest  snow 
And  hangs  on  Dian's  temple:  dear  Valeria! 

Vol.  This  is  a  poor  epitome  of  yours, 
Which  by  the  interpretation  of  full  time 
May  show  like  all  yourself. 

Cor.  The  god  of  soldiers,  70 

With  the  consent  of  supreme  Jove,  inform 
Thy  thoughts  with  nobleness;  that  thou  mayst  prove 
To  shame  unvulnerable,  and  stick  i'  the  wars 
Like  a  great  sea-mark,  standing  every  flaw, 
And  saving  those  that  eye  thee ! 

Vol.  Your  knee,  sirrah. 

Cor.  That 's  my  brave  boy ! 

Vol.  Even  he,  your  wife,  this  lady,  and  myself, 
Are  suitors  to  you. 

Cor.  I  beseech  you,  peace: 

Or,  if  you  'Id  ask,  remember  this  before : 
The  thing  I  have  forsworn  to  grant  may  never  80 

Be  held  by  you  denials.     Do  not  bid  me 
Dismiss  my  soldiers,  or  capitulate 
Again  with  Rome's  mechanics:  tell  me  not 
Wherein  I  seem  unnatural:  desire  not 
To  allay  my  rages  and  revenges  with 
Your  colder  reasons. 

Vol.  O,  no  more,  no  more ! 

You  've  said  you  will  not  grant  us  any  thing ; 
For  we  have  nothing  else  to  ask,  but  that 
Which  you  deny  already :  yet  we  will  ask ; 


82  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

That,  if  you  fail  in  our  request,  the  blame  90 

May  hang  upon  your  hardness:  therefore  hear  us.  e 

Cor.  Aufidius,  and  you  Volsces,  mark;  for  we'll 
Hear  nought  from  Rome  in  private.     Your  request? 

Vol.  Should  we  be  silent  and  not  speak,  our  raiment 
And  state  of  bodies  would  bewray  what  life 
We  've  led  since  thy  exile.      Think  with  thyself 
How  more  unfortunate  than  all  living  women 
Are  we  come  hither:  since  that  thy  sight,  which  should 
Make  our  eyes  flow  with  joy,  hearts  dance  with  comforts, 
Constrains  them  weep  and  shake  with  fear  and  sorrow;     100 
Making  the  mother,  wife  and  child  to  see 
The  son,  the  husband  and  the  father  tearing 
His  country's  bowels  out.    And  to  poor  we 
Thine  enmity's  most  capital:  thou  barr'st  us 
Our  prayers  to  the  gods,  which  is  a  comfort 
That  all  but  we  enjoy;  for  how  can  we, 
Alas,  how  can  we  for  our  country  pray, 
Whereto  we  're  bound,  together  with  thy  victory, 
Whereto  we're  bound?  alack,  or  we  must  lose 
The  country,  our  dear  nurse,  or  else  thy  person,  no 

Our  comfort  in  the  country.     We  must  find 
An  evident  calamity,  though  we  had 
Our  wish,  which  side  should  win:  for  either  thou 
Must,  as  a  foreign  recreant,  be  led 
With  manacles  thorough  our  streets,  or  else 
Triumphantly  tread  on  thy  country's  ruin, 
And  bear  the  palm  for  having  bravely  shed 
Thy  wife  and  children's  blood.     For  myself,  son, 
I  purpose  not  to  wait  on  fortune  till 

These  wars  determine:  if  I  cannot  persuade  thee  120 

Rather  to  show  a  noble  grace  to  both  parts 
Than  seek  the  end  of  one,  thou  shalt  no  sooner 
March  to  assault  thy  country  than  to  tread — 
Trust  to 't,  thou  shalt  not — on  thy  mother's  womb, 
That  brought  thee  to  this  world. 

Vir.  Ay,  and  mine, 

That  brought  you  forth  this  boy,  to  keep  your  name 
Living  to  time. 

Young  Mar.  A'  shall  not  tread  on  me ;  I  '11  run  away  till  I 
am  bigger,  but  then  I  '11  fight. 

Cor.  Not  of  a  woman's  tenderness  to  be, 
Requires  nor  child  nor  woman's  face  to  see.  130 

I  've  sat  too  long.  {Rising. 

Vol.  Nay,  go  not  from  us  thus. 


Scene  3.]  CORIOLANUS.  83 

If  it  were  so  that  our  request  did  tend 
To  save  the  Romans,  thereby  to  destroy 
The  Volsces  whom  you  serve,  you  might  condemn  us, 
As  poisonous  of  your  honour:  no;  our  suit 
Is,  that  you  reconcile  them:  while  the  Volsces 
May  say  'This  mercy  we  have  show'd';  the  Romans, 
This  we  received';  and  each  in  either  side 
Give  the  all-hail  to  thee,  and  cry  '  Be  blest 
For  making  up  this  peace!'    Thou  know'st,  great  son,        140 
The  end  of  war 's  uncertain,  but  this  certain, 
That,  if  thou  conquer  Rome,  the  benefit 
Which  thOu  shalt  thereby  reap  is  such  a  name, 
Whose  repetition  will  be  dogg'd  with  curses; 
f Whose  chronicle  thus  writ:  'The  man  was  noble, 
But  with  his  last  attempt  he  wiped  it  out; 
Destroyed  his  country,  and  his  name  remains 
To  th'  ensuing  age  abhorr'd\     Speak  to  me,  son : 
Thou  hast  affected  the  fine  strains  of  honour, 
To  imitate  the  graces  of  the  gods ;  1 50 

To  tear  with  thunder  the  wide  cheeks  o'  th'  air, 
And  yet  to  charge  thy  sulphur  with  a  bolt 
That  should  but  rive  an  oak.     Why  dost  not  speak? 
Think'st  thou  it  honourable  for  a  noble  man 
Still  to  remember  wrongs?     Daughter,  speak  you : 
He  cares  not  for  your  weeping.     Speak  thou,  boy : 
Perhaps  thy  childishness  will  move  him  more 
Than  can  our  reasons.    \  There  's  no  man  i'  th'  world 
More  bound  to's  mother I^yet  here  he  lets  me  prate 
Like  one  i'  th'  stocks.     Tnou'st  never  in  thy  life  160 

Show'd  thy  dear  mother  any  courtesy, 
When  she,  poor  hen,  fond  of  no  second  brood, 
Has  cluck'd  thee  to  the  wars,  and  safely  home, 
Loaden  with  honour.     Say  my  request 's  unjust, 
And  spurn  me  back :  but  if  it  be  not  so, 
Thou  art  not  honest ;  and  the  gods  will  plague  thee, 
That  thou  restrain'st  from  me  the  duty  which 
T  a  mother's  part  belongs.     He  turns  away : 
Down,  ladies ;  let  us  shame  him  with  our  knees. 
To 's  surname  Coriolanus  'longs  more  pride  170 

Than  pity  to  our  prayers.     Down:  an  end; 
This  is  the  last :  so  we  will  home  to  Rome, 
And  die  among  our  neighbours.     Nay,  behold 's : 
This  boy,  that  cannot  tell  what  he  would  have, 
But  kneels  and  holds  up  hands  for  fellowship, 
Does  reason  our  petition  with  more  strength 


84  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Than  thou  hast  to  deny  it.     Come,  let  us  go : 

This  fellow  had  a  Volscian  to  his  mother ; 

His  wife  is  in  Corioles  and  his  child 

Like  him  by  chance.     Yet  give  us  our  dispatch :  180 

I  'm  hush'd  until  our  city  be  afire, 

And  then  I  '11  speak  a  little.T//<<?  holds  her  by  the  hand,  silent. 

Cor.  f  O  mother,  mother !     r 

What  have  you  done?    Behold,  the  heavens  do  ope, 
The  gods  look  down,  and  this  unnatural  scene 
They  laugh  at.f    O  my  mother,  mother!  O ! 
You've  won  aliappy  victory  to  Rome; 
But,  for  your  son, — believe  it,  O,  believe  it, 
Most  dangerously  you  have  with  him  prevail'd, 
If  not  most  mortal  to  him.     But,  let  it  come.     ^    *; 
Aufidius,  though  I  cannot  make  true  wars,  190 

I  '11  frame  convenient  peace.     Now,  good  Aufidius, 
Were  you  in  my  stead,  would  you  have  heard 
A  mother  less?  or  granted  less,  Aufidius? 

Auf.\  was  moved  withal. 

Cor.  I  dare  be  sworn  you  were: 

And,  sir,  it  is  no  little  thing  to  make 
Mine  eyes  to  sweat  compassion.     But,  good  sir, 
What  peace  you'll  make,  advise  me:  for  my  part, 
I  '11  not  to  Rome,  I  '11  back  with  you;  and  pray  you, 
Stand  to  me  in  this  cause.     O  mother !  wife ! 

Auf.  [Aside.]   I'm  glad  thou'st  set  thy  mercy  and  thy 
honour  200 

At  difference  in  thee:  out  of  that  I  '11  work 
Myself  a  former  fortune. 

Cor.  [To  Volumnia."]  Ay,  by  and  by; 
But  we  will  drink  together;  and  you  shall  bear 
A  better  witness  back  than  words,  which  we, 
On  like  conditions,  will  have  counter-seal'd. 
Come,  enter  with  us.     Ladies,  you  deserve    \ '  ' 
To  have  a  temple  built  you:  all  the  swords 
In  Italy,  and  her  confederate  arms,  208 

Could  not  have  made  this  peace.  [Exeunt. 


Scene  IV.    Rome.    A  public  place. 
Enter  Menenius  and  Sicinius. 

Men.  See  you  yond  coign  o'  th'  Capitol,  yond  corner-stone? 
Sic.  Why,  what  of  that? 


Scene  4.]  CORIOLANUS.  85 

Men.  If  it  be  possible  for  you  to  displace  it  with  your  little 
finger,  there  is  some  hope  the  ladies  of  Rome,  especially  his 
mother,  may  prevail  with  him.  But  I  say  there  is  no  hope 
in't:  our  throats  are  sentenced  and  stay  upon  execution. 

Sic.  Is't  possible  that  so  short  a  time  can  alter  the  condi- 
tion of  a  man? 

Men.  There  is  differency  between  a  grub  and  a  butterfly; 
yet  your  butterfly  was  a  grub.  This  Marcius  is  grown  from 
man  to  dragon:  he  has  wings;  he's  more  than  a  creeping 
thing.  12 

Sic.  He  loved  his  mother  dearly. 

Men.  So  did  he  me:  and  he  no  more  remembers  his  mother 
now  than  an  eight-year-old  horse.  The  tartness  of  his  face 
sours  ripe  grapes:  when  he  walks,  he  moves  like  an  engine, 
and  the  ground  shrinks  before  his  treading:  he  is  able  to 
pierce  a  corslet  with  his  eye;  talks  like  a  knell,  and  his  hum 
is  a  battery.  He  sits  in  his  state,  as  a  thing  made  for  Alex- 
ander. What  he  bids  be  done  is  finished  with  his  bidding. 
He  wants  nothing  of  a  god  but  eternity  and  a  heaven  to 
throne  in.  22 

Sic.  Yes,  mercy,  if  you  report  him  truly. 

Men.  I  paint  him  in  the  character.  Mark  what  mercy  his 
mother  shall  bring  from  him:  there  is  no  more  mercy  in  him 
than  there  is  milk  in  a  male  tiger;  that  shall  our  poor  city 
find:  and  all  this  is  long  of  you. 

Sic.  The  gods  be  good  unto  us ! 

Men.  No,  in  such  a  case  the  gods  will  not  be  good  unto  us. 
When  we  banished  him,  we  respected  not  them;  and,  he  re- 
turning to  break  our  necks,  they  respect  not  us.  31 

Enter  a  Messenger. 
Mess.  Sir,  if  you 'Id  save  your  life,  fly  to  your  house: 
The  plebeians  have  got  your  fellow-tribune 
And  hale  him  up  and  down,  all  swearing,  if 
The  Roman  ladies  bring  not  comfort  home, 
They  '11  give  him  death  by  inches. 

Enter  a  second  Messenger. 

Sic.  What's  the  news? 

Sec.  Mess.  Good  news,  good  news ;  the  ladies  have  prevail'd, 
The  Volscians  are  dislodged,  and  Marcius  gone: 
A  merrier  day  did  never  yet  greet  Rome, 
No,  not  th'  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins. 

Sic.  Friend,  ¥> 

Art  thou  certain  this  is  true?  is  it  most  certain? 


86  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Sec.  Mess.  As  certain  as  I  know  the  sun  is  fire: 
Where  have  you  lurk'd,  that  you  make  doubt  of  it? 
Ne'er  through  an  arch  so  hurried  the  blown  tide, 
As  the  recomforted  through  th'  gates.      Why,  hark  you ! 

[Trumpets;  hautboys;  drums  beat;  all  together. 
The  trumpets,  sackbuts,  psalteries  and  fifes, 
Tabors  and  cymbals  and  the  shouting  Romans, 
Make  the  sun  dance.     Hark  you !  [A  shout  within. 

Men.  x  This  is  good  news: 

I  will  go  meet  the  ladies.  ;  This  Volumnia 
Is  worth  of  consuls,  senators,  patricians,  50 

A  city  full;  of  tribunes,  such  as  you, 
A  sea  and  land  full.     You  have  pray'd  well  to-day: 
This  morning  for  ten  thousand  of  your  throats 
I  'Id  not  have  given  a  doit.     Hark,  how  they  joy ! 

[Music  still,  with  shouts. 

Sic.  First,  the  gods  bless  you  for  your  tidings ;  next, 
Accept  my  thankfulness. 

Sec.  Mess.  Sir,  we  have  all 

Great  cause  to  give  great  thanks. 

Sic.  They're  near  the  city? 

Sec.  Mess.  Almost  at  point  to  enter. 

Sic.  We  will  meet  them, 

And  help  the  joy.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  V.     The  same.    A  street  near  the  gate. 

Enter  two  Senators  with  Volumnia,  Virgilia,  Valeria, 

&c,  passing  over  the  stage,  followed  by  Patricians,  and 

others. 

First  SenT  Behold  our  patroness,  the  life  of  Rome !  \ 
Call  all  your  tribes  together,  praise  the  gods, 
And  make  triumphant  fires;  strew  flowers  before  them: 
Unshout  the  noise  that  banish'd  Marcius, 
Repeal  him  with  the  welcome  of  his  mother; 
Cry  'Welcome,  ladies,  welcome!' 

All.  Welcome,  ladies, 

Welcome!     [A  flourish  with  drums  and  trumpets.    Exeunt. 

Scene  VI.    Antium.    A  public  place. 

Enter  Tullus  Aufidius,  with  Attendants. 

Auf.  Go  tell  the  lords  o'  th1  city  I  am  here: 
Deliver  them  this  paper:  having  read  it, 
Bid  them  repair  to  the  market-place ;  where  I, 
Even  in  theirs  and  in  the  commons'  ears, 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  87 

Will  vouch  the  truth  of  it.     Him  I  accuse 
The  city  ports  by  this  hath  enter'd  and 
Intends  t'  appear  before  the  people,  hoping 
To  purge  himself  with  words:  dispatch. 

\Exeunt  Attendants. 

Enter  three  or  four  Conspirators  of  Kvyidiu^  faction. 

Most  welcome ! 

First  Con.  How  is  it  with  our  general? 

Auf  Even  so 

As  with  a  man  by  his  own  alms  empoison'd,  10 

And  with  his  charity  slain. 

Sec.  Con.  Most  noble  sir, 

If  you  do  hold  the  same  intent  wherein 
You  wish'd  us  parties,  we  '11  deliver  you 
Of  your  great  danger. 

Auf  Sir,  I  cannot  tell: 

We  must  proceed  as  we  do  find  the  people. 

•  Third  Con.  The  people  will  remain  uncertain  whilst 
'Twixt  you  there 's  difference ;  but  the  fall  of  either 
Makes  the  survivor  heir  of  all. 

Auf.  I  know  it; 

And  my  pretext  to  strike  at  him  admits 

A  good  construction.     I  raised  him,  and  I  pawn'd  20 

Mine  honour  for  his  truth :  who  being  so  heighten'd, 
He  watered  his  new  plants  with  dews  of  flattery, 
Seducing  so  my  friends ;  and,  to  this  end, 
He  bow'd  his  nature,  never  known  before 
But  to  be  rough,  unswayable  and  free. 

Third  Con.  Sir,  his  stoutness 
When  he  did  stand  for  consul,  which  he  lost 
By  lack  of  stooping, — 

Auf.  That  I  would  have  spoke  of: 

Being  banish'd  for't,  he  came  unto  my  hearth; 
Presented  to  my  knife  his  throat :  I  took  him;  3° 

Made  him  joint-servant  with  me ;  gave  him  way 
In  all  his  own  desires;  nay,  let  him  choose 
Out  of  my  files,  his  projects  to  accomplish, 
My  best  and  freshest  men ;  served  his  designments 
In  mine  own  person;  holp  to  reap  the  fame 
Which  he  did  end  all  his;  and  took  some  pride 
To  do  myself  this  wrong:  $1,  at  the  last, 
I  seem'd  his  follower,  not  partner,  and 
He  waged  me  with  his  countenance,  as  if 
I  had  been  mercenary. 


88  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

First  Con.  So  he  did,  my  lord:  40 

The  army  marvell'd  at  it,  and,  in  the  last, 
When  he  had  carried  Rome  and  that  we  look'd 
For  no  less  spoil  than  glory, — 

Auf.  There  was  it, 

For  which  my  sinews  shall  be  stretch'd  upon  him. 
At  a  few  drops  of  women's  rheum,  which  are 
As  cheap  as  lies,  he  sold  the  blood  and  labour 
Of  our  great  action:  therefore  shall  he  die, 
And  I  '11  renew  me  in  "his  fall.     But,  hark ! 
\Drums  and  trumpets  sound,  with  great  shouts  of  the  People. 

First  Con.  Your  native  town  you  enter'd  like  a  post, 
And  had  no  welcomes  home ;  but  he  returns,  50 

Splitting  the  air  with  noise. 

Sec.  Con.  And  patient  fools, 

Whose  children  he  hath  slain,  their  base  throats  tear 
With  giving  him  glory. 

Third  Con.  Therefore,  at  your  vantage, 

Ere  he  express  himself,  or  move  the  people 
With  what  he  would  say,  let  him  feel  your  sword, 
Which  we  will  second.     When  he  lies  along, 
After  your  way  his  tale  pronounced  shall  bury 
His  reasons  with  his  body. 

Auf.  Say  no  more: 

Here  come  the  lords. 

Enter  the  Lords  of  the  city. 

AU  me  Lords.  You  are  most  welcome  home. 

Auf.  I've  not  deserved  it.     60 

But,  worthy  lords,  have  you  with  heed  perused 
What  I  have  written  to  you? 

Lords.  We  have. 

First  Lord.  And  grieve  to  hear  it. 

What  faults  he  made  before  the  last,  I  think 
Might  have  found  easy  fines:  but  there  to  end 
Where  he  was  to  begin  and  give  away 
The  benefit  of  our  levies,  answering  us 
With  our  own  charge,  making  a  treaty  where 
There  was  a  yielding, — this  admits  no  excuse. 

Auf.  H'  approaches:  you  shall  hear  him. 

Enter  CORIOLANUS,  marching  with  drum  and  colours j  the 
Commoners  being  with  him. 

Cor.  Hail,  lords !  I  am  return'd  your  soldier,  70 

No  more  infected  with  my  country's  love 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  89 

Than  when  I  parted  hence,Nbut  still  subsisting 

Under  your  great  command^  You  are  to  know 

That  prosperously  I  have  attempted  and 

With  bloody  passage  led  your  wars  even  to 

The  gates  of  Rome.     Our  spoils  we  have  brought  home 

Do  more  than  counterpoise  a  full  third  part 

The  charges  of  the  action.     We  've  made  peace 

With  no  less  honour  to  the  Antiates 

Than  shame  to  th'  Romans :  and  we  here  deliver,  80 

Subscribed  by  th'  consuls  and  patricians, 

Together  with  the  seal  o'  th'  senate,  what 

We  have  compounded  on. 

Auf  Read  it  not,  noble  lords; 

But  tell  the  traitor,  in  the  high'st  degree 
He  hath  abused  your  powers. 

Cor.  Traitor  I  how  now ! 

Auf  Ay,  traitor,  Marcius! 

Cor.  '  "  '     »       Marcius! 

Auf.  Ay,  Marcius,  Caius  Marcius :  dost  thou  think 
I  '11  grace  thee  with  that  robbery,  thy  stol'n  name 
Coriolanus  in  Corioles  ? 

You  lords  and  heads  o'  th'  state,  perfidiously  90 

He  has  betray'd  your  business,  and  given  up, 
For  certain  drops  of  salt,  your  city  Rome, 
I  say  'your  city',  to  his  wife  and  mother; 
Breaking  his  oath  and  resolution  like 
A  twist  of  rotten  silk,  never  admitting 
Counsel  o'  th'  war,  but  at  his  nurse's  tears 
He  whined  and  roar'd  away  your  victory, 
That  pages  blush'd  at  him  and  men  of  heart 
Look'd  wondering  each  at  others. 

Cor.  Hear'st  thou,  Mars?         99 

Auf.  Name  not  the  god,  thou  boy  of  tears ! 

Cor.  Ha! 

Auf.  No  more. 

Cor.  Measureless  liar,  thou  hast  made  my  heart 
Too  great  for  what  contains  it.     *  Boy !'  O  slave! 
Pardon  me,  lords,  't  is  the  first  time  that  ever 
I  was  forced  to  scold.    Your  judgments,  my  grave  lords, 
Must  give  this  cur  the  lie:  and  his  own  notion — 
Who  wears  my  stripes  impress'd  upon  him;  that 
Must  bear  my  beating  to  his  grave — shall  join 
To  thrust  the  lie  unto  him. 

First  Lord.  Peace,  both,  and  hear  me  speak. 

Cor.  Cut  me  to  pieces,  Volsces ;  men  and  lads,  1 10 


go  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Stain  all  your  edges  on  me.     '  Boy !'  false  hound ! 
If  you  have  writ  your  annals  true,  't  is  there, 
That,  like  an  eagle  in  a  dove-cote,  I 
Flutter'd  your  Volscians  in  Corioles : 
Alone  I  did  it.     '  BojM' 

Auf.  "  Why,  noble  lords, 

Will  you  be  put  in  mind  of  his  blind  fortune, 
Which  was  your  shame,  by  this  unholy  braggart, 
'Fore  your  own  eyes  and  ears? 

All  Consp.  Let  him  die  for't. 

All  the  people.  'Tear  him  to  pieces.'  'Do  it  presently.' 
'  He  killed  my  son.'  "~*"My  daughter.'  '  He  killed  my  cousin 
Marcus.'     '  He  killed  my  father.'  121 

Sec.  Lord.  Peace,  ho!  no  outrage:  peace! 
The  man  is  noble  and  his  fame  folds-in 
This  orb  o'  th'  earth.     His  last  offences  to  us 
Shall  have  judicious  hearing.     Stand,  Aufidius, 
And  trouble  not  the  peace. 

Cor.  O  that  I  had  him, 

With  six  Aufidiuses,  or  more,  his  tribe, 
To  use  my  lawful  sword ! 

Auf.  Insolent  villain! 

All  Consp.  Kill,  kill,  kill,  kill,  kill  him! 
[The  Conspirators  draw,  and  kill  Coriolanus,  who  falls: 
Aufidius  stands  on  his  body. 

Lords.  Hold,  hold,  hold,  hold ! 

Auf.  My  noble  masters,  hear  me  speak. 

First  Lord.  O  Tullus,—    130 

Sec.  Lord  Thou  'st  done  a  deed  whereat  valour  will  weep. 

Third  Lord.  Tread  not  upon  him.  Masters  all,  be  quiet ; 
Put  up  your  swords. 

Auf  My  lords,  when  you  shall  know — as  in  this  rage 
Provoked  by  him,  you  cannot — the  great  danger 
Which  this  man's  life  did  owe  you,  you  '11  rejoice 
That  he  is  thus  cut  off.     Please  it  your  honours 
To  call  me  to  your  senate,  I  '11  deliver 
Myself  your  loyal  servant,  or  endure 
Your  heaviest  censure. 

First  Lord.  Bear  from  hence  his  body;  140 

And  mourn  you  for  him:  let  him  be  regarded 
As  the  most  noble  corse  that  ever  herald 
Did  follow  to  his  urn. 

Sec.  Lord.  His  own  impatience 

Takes  from  Aufidius  a  great  part  of  blame. 
Let 's  make  the  best  of  it. 


\ 


Scene  6.]  CORIOLANUS.  91 

Auf.  ' My  rage  is  gone; 

And  I  am  struck  with  sorrow.     Take  him  up. 
Help,  three  o'  th'  chiefest  soldiers ;   I  '11  be  one. 
Beat  thou  the  drum,  that  it  speak  mournfully: 
Trail  your  steel  pikes.     Though  in  this  city  he 
Hath  widow'd  and  unchilded  many  a  one,  150 

Which  to  this  hour  bewail  the  injury, 
Yet  he  shall  have  a  noble  memory. 

Assist.     [Exeunt ',  bearing  the  body  of  Coriolanus.    A  dead 
march  sounded. 


NOTES. 


These  notes  should  be  used  with  the  Glossary,  to  which  the  student  is 

referred  for  all  matters  of  merely  verbal  interpretation. 
Reference  is  made  for  other  plays  to  the  lines  of  the  Globe  text. 
The  symbols  F  i,   F  2,  Fj,   and  F4  denote  the  collected  Folio 

editions  of  1623,   1632,   1664,    and  i6Sj  respectively.      Ff. 

denotes  the  consent  of  the  four  Folios. 
The  sections  of  Abbott's  Shakespearean  Grammar  quoted  are  those  of 

the  3rd  edition. 

Dramatis  Personae.  The  early  editions  have  no  list  of  char- 
acters. The  first  editor  to  supply  one  was  Rowe.  Corioianus  is 
indifferently  called  Caius  Martius  and  Martius  Caius  in  the  text  and 
stage-directions  of  the  Ff.  In  i.  1.  230  and  some  other  places  Titus 
Lartius  is  called  Titus  Lucius  in  the  Ff. 

Scene.  Most  modern  editors  use  the  spelling  Corioli,  which  is 
historically  correct;  but  the  Ff.  have  Corioles,  Coriolus  and  Coria- 
lus.  North  has  Corioles,  which  is  therefore  probably  what  Shake- 
speare wrote. 

Time.  Mr.  P.  A.  Daniel  divides  the  action — I  think,  correctly 
— into  eleven  days,  with  intervals.  Cf.  the  notes  at  the  end  of  each 
scene  and  the  Transactions  of  the  New  Shakspere  Society  for  187 J 
-79,  part  ii. 

Acts  and  Scenes.  The  Ff.  mark  the  acts,  and  act  i.  sc.  1, 
but  no  other  scenes.  The  division  here  adopted  is  due  to  Rowe, 
Pope,  Capell,  and  Dyce. 

Act  L— Scene  I. 

The  object  of  the  first  act  is  the  glorification  of  Corioianus.  This 
is  a  tragedy ;  that  is,  essentially,  the  story  of  the  failure  and  ruin  of 
a  soul  which  is,  at  least,  greatly  planned.  In  order  then  that  we 
may  be  affected  tragically,  the  element  of  greatness  in  Corioianus 
must  first  be  established.  Corioianus  is,  in  his  way,  anideaj^st ;  he 
idealizes  himself  as  a  man  of  honour.  And  in  the  war  with  Corioles 
which  occupies  scenes  4-10  of  the  act,  our  attention  is  directed  to 
those  qualities  in  him  which  justify  that  ideal,  his  valour  and  mag- 
nanimity on  the  field 'of  battle.  He  is  the  "flcwer  of  warriors"* 
His  defects  are  lightly  touched,  not  yet  emphasized. 


Act  I.  Scene  i.]  NOTES.  93 

The  three  first  scenes  are,  however,  as  is  usual  with  Shakespeare, 
a  sort  of  prologue.  We  are  introduced  to  the  hero,  and  put  in 
possession  of  the  chief  factors  in  the  problem  which  is  to  be  worked 
out.  In  the  first  scene  we  learn  the  political  environment  in  which 
the  action  will  take  place ;  in  scenes  2  and  3  we  meet  Aufidius  and 
Volumnia,  the  two  individuals  who  will  have  the  greatest  influence 
on  Coriolanus'  fate. 

Scene  1  shows  us  the  state  of  Rome,  the  irreconcilable  antagon- 
ism between  the  patricians  and  the  plebeians.  These  dwell  in  the 
same  city,  but  they  have  no  desire  or  ideal  in  common ;  an  impos- 
sible state  of  things  for  civil  welfare ;  trouble  must  come  of  it.  And 
even  apart  from  Coriolanus,  the  leading  personalities  on  either  side 
are  not  likely  to  mend  matters;  Menenius,  the  good-natured  bon 
viveur,  witty  but  not  very  wise,  and  the  narrow,  shifty,  barely  disin- 
terested tribunes.  Not  of  such  stuff  are  the  statesmen  made  who 
save  society.  But  it  is  Coriolanus  himself  who  is  the  chief  element 
of  danger.  The  rest  of  the  nobles  would  willingly  compromise ;  his 
scorn  for  the  many-headed  multitude  is  only  equalled  by  his  frank- 
ness in  proclaiming  it. 

Act  i.  scene  1  is  based  upon  North's  Plutarch,  §§  12-20  and  §§  32 
-34.  But  Shakespeare  has  somewhat  compressed  Plutarch's  account. 
Plutarch  speaks  of  two  seditions,  one  before  the  war  with  Corioles 
(§§  12-20),  which  was  due  to  the  oppression  of  usurers;  one  after- 
wards caused  by  a  dearth  of  corn  (§§  32-34).  Shakespeare  only 
needs  one  sedition  for  his  dramatic  effect;  he  puts  this  before  the 
war,  but  makes  it  turn  chiefly  on  the  question  of  corn.  Usury  is, 
however,  mentioned  in  i.  I.  73.  The  trouble  after  the  war  is 
omitted ;  but  the  distribution  of  corn  and  the  opposition  of  Corio- 
lanus to  that  measure  which  Plutarch  describes  in  §§  44-46  is 
referred  to  in  iii.  I.  41-139,  although  the  time  of  it  is  not  precisely 
defined.  Shakespeare  took  from  Plutarch  Menenius'  apologue  of  the 
belly  (i.  I.  92-157;  North,  §  17),  and  the  grant  of  tribunes  (i.  I. 
219-221 ;  North,  §  18),  as  well  as  some  hints  on  Coriolanus'  charac- 
ter (i.  I.  30-44;  North,  §§  3,  10). 

5.  chief  enemy  to  the  people.  This  is  the  ruling  element  in 
the  situation,  and  the  point  is  made  at  once.  Notice  also  the  touch 
of  stage-craft  by  which  our  attention  is  called  to  Coriolanus  before 
he  enters. 

15-18.  *  They  will  not  give  us,  even  of  their  superfluity,  for  we 
are  too  precious  to  them  as  we  are;  our  poverty,  and  the  sight  of 
our  misery,  enable  them,  by  contrast,  to  realize  their  own  happiness 
in  detail.' 

16.  dear.  Johnson  explains  this  as  *  expensive'.  I  think  it  is 
'  precious '. 

the   object    of  our   misery,   i.e.    our  misery,   objected  to 
(obiicio)  or  set  bofore  them. 

19.  rakes.    A  common  proverb  was,  "As  lean  as  a  rake". 


94  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

23-29.  The  Ff.  give  these  lines  to  All;  but  they  are  not  mere 
outcries,  such  as  properly  belong  to  the  Chorus.  They  are  part  of  a 
connected  dialogue,  in  which  the  First  Citizen  consistently  attacks 
Coriolanus,  while  the  Second  Citizen  is  inclined  to  make  excuses  for 
nim. 

23.  a  dog  to  the  commonalty;  not  as  'despised',  but  as 
'savage',  'unfeeling':  cf.  Lear,'\\.  3.  47,  "dog-hearted daughters". 

25.  The  popular  opinion  about  Coriolanus  is  not  quite  decided. 
Politically  he  is  hated ;  but,  after  all,  he  is  a  brave  man  and  a  suc- 
cessful general,  and  that  always  counts  for  a  good  deal  with  the 


31.  to  that  end,  to  gratify  his  own  pride  and  self-esteem. 

32.  to  please  his  mother ;  cf.  North,  §  10. 

33.  to  be  partly  proud.  Staunton  and  Lettsom  respectively 
conjecture  portly  and  pertly ;  but  the  phrase  is  only  a  transposition 
for  'partly  to  be  proud':  cf.  Abbott,  §4.20. 

Such  transposition  of  adverbs  is  especially  common  in  this  play  : 
cf.  i.  1.  226;  i.  2.  24;  i.  3.  26,  34. 

34.  virtue,  in  the  special  sense  of  the  Roman  virtus,  '  valour ' : 
cf.  Glossary,  and  North,  §  3. 

36.  You  must  in  no  way  say  he  is  covetous.  Coriolanus  is 
not  covetous,  of  what  other  men  covet.  Cf.  his  behaviour  in  Corioles 
(i.  5.  5-10),  and  at  the  portioning  of  the  spoil"  (i.  9.  37),  and  North, 
§3- 

43.  one  that  hath  always  loved  the  people.  Menenius  really 
loves  the  people  no  more  than  any  other  noble  does,  but  he  is 
popular  for  his  hail-fellow-well-met  manner.  North  has  it  that  the 
Senate  sent  to  the  seceding  plebeians  "certain  of  the  pleasantest  old 
men,  and  the  most  acceptable  to  the  people  amongst  them"  (§  17). 

49.  First  Cit.  The  Ff.  have  2  Cit.  throughout  the  scene. 
Capell  made  the  change,  which  is  generally  adopted,  on  the  ground 
that  hitherto  the  First  Citizen  has  led  the  agitation.  Knight,  how- 
ever, makes  a  fair  case  on  the  other  side.  "The  Jirst  citizen  is  a 
hater  of  public  men, — the  second  of  public  measures;  the  first  would 
kill  Coriolanus, — the  second  would  repeal  the  laws  relating  to  corn 
and  usury.     He  says  not  one  word  against  Coriolanus." 

Note  that  Menenius  talks  in  blank  verse ;  the  citizens,  of  lower 
rank,  in  prose,  up  to  i.  1.  104;  cf.  note  to  that  line,  and  Essay  on 
Metre,  §  18. 

52.  strong  breaths,  i.e.  'strong-smelling'.  Coriolanus  speaks 
in  iii.  1.  66  of  " Th'  mutable  rank-scented  many". 

64.  your  impediment,  'the  impediment  caused  by  you'.  Cf. 
Othello,  v.  2.  63— 

"  I  have  made  my  way  through  more  impediments 
Than  twenty  times  your  stop". 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  95 

68.  Thither  where  more  attends  you,  i.e.  'to  mutiny,  which 
can  only  result  in  fresh  calamity '. 

69.  The  helms  o'  th'  state,  i.e.  the  patricians.  'Helms'  is 
put,  by  what  is  called  metonymy^  for  'those  at  the  helm',  the 
'  steersmen '. 

73.  usury:  cf.  North,  §  12. 

83.  stale  't.  Theobald's  emendation  for  the  scale  *t  of  the  Ff. 
Cf.  Massinger,  Unnatural  Combat,  iv.  2 — 

"  I  '11  not  stale  the  jest 
By  my  relation". 

Steevens  asserts  that  scale  is  used  in  the  north  for  '  spread  abroad ', 
'  disperse '. 

86.  On  the  fable  of  the  Belly,  cf.  Appendix  B. 
'  88.   only.     Either  'the  belly  alone  remained',   or  'the  belly 
remained  like  nothing  so  much  as  a  gulf.     On  gulf,  cf.  Glossary. 

go.  cupboarding,  putting  into  itself,  as  into  a  cupboard.  Shake- 
speare assumes  the  right  to  make  a  verb  or  participle,  without  more 
ado,  out  of  almost  any  noun,  and  in  almost  any  relation  to  the  noun- 
idea.  Thus,  in  this  play,  side  (i.  I.  184)  = 'take  sides  with';  feebling 
(i.  1.  186)  =  ' speaking  of  as  feeble',  ' depreciating ';  fielded  (i.  4.  12) 
=  'in  the  field';  agued  (i.  4.  38)= 'having  the  effect  of  an  ague'; 
horsed  (ii.  I.  195)  = 'bestridden';  dispropertied  (ii.  1.  232)  = 'emptied 
of  properties';  roted  (iii.  2.  55)  = 'learnt  by  rote';  tent  (iii.  2.  116) 
=  ' pitch  their  tents';  knee  {v.  I.  5)  = 'make  upon  one's  knees';  coy 
(v.  I.  6)  = 'show  coyness,  or  unwillingness';  office  {v.  2.  59)  = 'keep 
by  virtue  of  his  office';  servanted  (v.  2.  76)  = 'made  servants  to'; 
godded (v.  3.  11)='  made  a  god  of;  virgin  it  (v.  3.  48)  = 'remain  a 
virgin';  throne  (v.  4.  21)  =  ' to  sit  enthroned';  wage  (v.  6.  39)  =  'pay 
wages  to ';  unchild  (v.  6.  150)  = '  rob  of  children '. 

viand,  not  elsewhere  used  in  singular  by  Shakespeare;   cf. 
Glossary. 

91.  where,  for  'whereas'.     Cf.  Abbott,  §  134. 

93.  mutually  participate,  taking  shares  together.  Participate 
is  used  as  an  active  participle ;  cf.  '  reverberate '  for  '  reverberating ' 
in  Twelfth  Night,  i.  5.  291,  "Halloo  your  name  to  the  reverberate 
hills". 

94.  affection,  desire.     Cf.  1.  181  and  Glossary. 

97.  Menenius  illustrates  his  remarks  by  a  scornful  smile,  not  of 
genuine  merriment,  but  of  contempt.  The  Clarendon  Press  editor 
quotes  of  the  genuine  laugh  As  You  Like  It,  ii.  7.  30,  "  My  lungs 
began  to  crow  like  chanticleer  ". 

98.  Menenius  began  his  fable  with  a  political  motive.  He  has 
now  become  interested  in  his  own  artistic  treatment  of  it.  The  belly 
"laughed  at  their  folly"  in  North,  §  17,  so  that  Menenius'  jest  is 
really  a  bit  of  literary  criticism  on  Shakespeare's  part. 

(M415)  H 


96  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

99.  tauntingly.     So  F4;  F  I  has  taintingly;  F2,  3  tantingly. 

101.  his  receipt,  'what  he  received*.  His  is  the  regular  Shake- 
spearean form  for  the  genitive  of  the  neuter,  as  well  as  the  masculine 
pronoun.  Its  occurs  very  rarely  in  the  Qq.  and  Ff.  Transitional 
forms  are  it's  and  it.  It  occurs  about  fourteen  times  in  F  1.  In  the 
Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible,  his  is  almost  invariable,  but  it 
occurs  in  Leviticus,  xxv.  5,  "of  it  own  accord".  Cf.  Abbott,  §  228; 
Craik,  English  of  Shakespeare,  p.  91 ;  and  Sweet,  Short  English 
Gratnmar,  §§  359,  399. 

104.  The  citizen  is  excited  to  eloquence,  and  therefore,  from  this 
point,  speaks  in  blank  verse  instead  of  prose. 

Your:  the  ethic  pronoun,   used  colloquially.     Cf.  line   117, 
note,  and  ii.  1.  190,  note. 

no.  'Fore  me.  Wright  suggests  that  this  oath  was  an  euphemism 
for  '  'fore  God ' ;  but  does  it  not  mean  '  God  before  me',  '  God  de- 
fend me '? 

Menenius  soon  loses  his  temper  when  he  finds  his  persuasions  not 
very  effective. 

116.  you  'St.  So  the  Ff.  According  to  Wright  the  contraction 
is  a  provincialism ;  but  does  it  not  represent  '  you  shall ',  as  distin- 
guished from  '  you  '11 '  or  '  you  will '? 

117.  me,  the  'ethical'  dative,  introducing  a  person  interested  in 
the  action  of  the  verb ;  cf.  Abbott,  §  220. 

120.  incorporate,  united  in  one  body. 

128.  The  strongest  nerves.  We  have  inverted  the  usual 
Elizabethan  terminology,  using  'sinews'  for  the  Elizabethan  'nerves' 
and  vice  versa. 

134.  make  my  audit  up,  balance  my  accounts. 

137.  It  was  an  answer;  and  a  good  one,  so  far  as  the  belly  was 
concerned ;  but  Menenius'  difficulty  will  be  to  show  that  the  nobles 
also,  like  the  belly,  yield  the  flour  to  others,  and  keep  but  the  bran 
themselves. 

145.  Menenius  has  learnt  one  of  the  arts  of  the  public  speaker,  to 
single  out  the  most  prominent  of  his  interrupters  and  disconcert  him 
by  making  him  ridiculous.  But  on  the  whole  his  speech  has  not 
been  a  success.  In  North  his  persuasions  "pacified  the  people"; 
in  Shakespeare  they  have  no  effect.  The  whole  episode  only  serves 
to  bring  out  the  complete  divergence  between  the  noble  and  the 
plebeian  points  of  view.  And  one  feels  that  the  citizen,  who  has 
shown  a  good  deal  of  shrewd  common  sense,  and  has  escaped  all  the 
pitfalls  of  Menenius'  dialectic,  has  really  had  the  best  of  it.  Menenius' 
argument,  when  analysed,  is  only  the  ordinary  sophistry  by  which 
the  middlemen  and  the  unproductive  classes  generally  justify  to 
themselves  their  own  appropriation  of  nine-tenths  of  the  profits  of 
industry.  It  is  very  plausible,  but  not  calculated  to  convince  a 
starving  proletariate. 


Scene  I.]  NOTES.  97 

i4g.  worst  in  blood  to  run,  in  the  worst  condition  for  running. 
The  metaphor  is  from  the  chase :  a  '  rascal '  is  a  deer  in  bad  con- 
dition: cf.  Glossary.     The  phrase  "in  blood"  recurs  in  iv.  5.  425. 

152.  Menenius  admits  that  his  attempts  at  conciliation  have  proved 
a  failure.  He  lets  out  his  real  opinion  about  the  plebeians.  They 
are  no  part  of  Rome,  as  he  conceives  it ;  Rome  will  be  better  without 
them. 

154.  At  Coriolanus'  first  appearance  we  see  something  of  both 
sides  of  him,  his  valoui_aad  chivalry  in  lines  214-242,  and  his  insol^ 
encejto  the  plebeians  in  lines  153-213.    He  analyses  the  worser  side 
of  their  character  pointedly  enough,  seeing  nothing  of  its  redeeming 
features,  and  without  a  jot  of  sympathy. 

There  is  nothing  in  Plutarch  which  corresponds  directly  to  lines 
153-270.  The  election  of  tribunes  is  briefly  mentioned  {North,  §  18), 
and  the  outbreak  of  war  with  Corioles  (§  20). 

155.  the  poor  itch  of  your  opinion.  That  the  rabble  should 
have  an  opinion  at  all,  is  to  Coriolanus  a  sign  of  an  unhealthy  con- 
dition in  the  state.  Unless  they  leave  it  alone,  they  will  only  make 
themselves  the  more  uncomfortable  for  it.  The  choice  of  metaphor 
is  characteristic.  The  mob  are  always,  physically  as  well  as  spirit- 
ually, offensive  to  Coriolanus.  The  grammar  may  either  be  '  make 
for  yourselves  scabs'  or  'make  yourselves  into  scabs'.  'Scab'  was 
a  common  term  of  abuse :  cf.  Much  Ado,  iii.  3.  105 — 

"  Con.  Here,  man ;  I  am  at  thy  elbow. 
Bor.    Mass,  and  my  elbow  itch'd ;  I  thought  there  would  a  scab 
follow." 

166.  '  To  glorify  the  criminal  whose  offence  has  brought  him  into 
trouble.' 

167.  that  justice  did  it.  For  the  omission  of  the  relative  before 
1  did ',  cf.  Abbott,  §  244. 

168.  affections:  cf.  line  94,  note. 

172.  Hang  ye !  Trust  ye  ?  The  line  would  be  more  effective  if 
we  accepted  Coleridge's  conjectured  order,  Trust  ye?  Hang  ye  I 

175.  your  garland,  'that  which  you  delighted  to  honour';  'the 
ornament  of  your  city '.  I  do  not  find  the  word  quite  in  this  sense 
elsewhere.  In  i.  9.  60  and  ii.  1.  112  it  is  used  as  'the  emblem  of 
victory '. 

179.  Coriolanus  does  not  wish  the  plebeians  to  address  him  directly; 
he  prefers  to  learn  their  demands  through  Menenius. 

184.  side  factions,  take  sides  with  factions ;  cf.  line  90,  note. 

186.  feebling,  treating  as  feeble,  depreciating;  cf.  line  90,  note. 

190.  these  quarter'd  slaves.  The  logical  order  is,  'I 'Id 
quarter  thousands  of  these  slaves,  and  make  a  quarry  of  them '. 

193.  The  discretion  of  the  plebeians  is  not  really  persuaded  by 


98  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Menenius'  arguments,  nor  their  cowardice  by  Coriolanus'  bluster. 
But  Menenius  will  not  miss  his  chance  for  an  epigram. 

197.  an-hungry,  with  a  reminiscence  of  S.  Matthew,  xxv.  35, 
"  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ". 

proverbs.  The  Clarendon  Press  editor  quotes  Archbishop 
Trench,  Proverbs  and  their  Lessons,  pp.  2,  3,  "  In  a  fastidious  age 
indeed,  and  one  of  false  refinement,  they  may  go  nearly  or  quite  out 
of  use  among  the  so-called  upper  classes.  No  gentleman,  says  Lord 
Chesterfield,  or  no  '  man  of  fashion ',  as  I  think  is  his  exact  phrase, 
1  ever  uses  a  proverb '.  And  with  how  fine  a  touch  of  nature  Shake- 
speare makes  Coriolanus,  the  man  who,  with  all  his  greatness,  is 
entirely  devoid  of  all  sympathy  with  the  people,  to  utter  his  scorn  of 
them  in  scorn  of  their  proverbs  and  of  their  frequent  employment  of 
these." 

202.  generosity,  not  in  its  ethical  sense,  but  in  that  of  the 
generosi  or  men  of  good  birth. 

203.  threw  their  caps,  a  common  folk's  trick;  cf.  Julius  Casar, 
i.  2.  246,  "  the  rabblement  hooted  and  clapped  their  chapped  hands, 
and  threw  up  their  sweaty  night -caps  ". 

205.  Shouting.     So  Pope  for  the  Shooting  of  the  Ff. 

206.  tribunes.  This  episode,  with  the  names  of  the  tribunes,  is 
from  North,  §  18. 

209.  unroof  d.     So  Theobald  for  the  unroo'st  of  the  Ff. 

211.  Win  upon  power,  take  advantage  of  the  power  already 
won  to  win  more. 

214.  The  insurrection  has  already  been  well-nigh  quelled,  not  by 
the  methods  of  Menenius  or  Coriolanus,  but  by  the  grant  of  tribunes. 
Tiie  outbreak  of  war  completes  the  business.  And  now  the  finer 
side  of  Coriolanus,  to  which  our  attention  is  to  be  directed  in  this 
act,  comes  into  play.  At  the  first  whisper  of  danger  he  becomes  the 
champion  of  Rome.  His  high-bred  courtesy  towards  his  fellow- 
captains  contrasts  markedly  with  his  former  manner  towards  the 
plebeians. 

217.  Our  musty  superfluity,  this  herd  of  plebeians  who  have 
gone  bad  (i.e.  proud;  cf.  line  161)  with  peace. 

220.  put  you  to  't,  '  give  you  a  tough  job '.  The  personal  rivalry 
between  Coriolanus  and  Tullus  Aufidius  is  at  once  emphasized. 

223.  he,  for  '  him  *;  cf.  Abbott,  §  206. 

225.  I  'Id  revolt ;  this  is  prophetic,  in  view  of  what  follows. 
Coriolanus'  valour  has  its  root  in  selfishness,  not  in  any  deep  spirit 
of  patriotism. 

226.  Only  my  wars  with  him,  an  inversion  for  *  my  wars  only 
with  him';  cf.  i.  I.  40,  and  Abbott,  §  420. 

230.  Lartius.     The  Ff.,  here  and  occasionally,  misprint  Lucius* 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  99 

232.  standst  out?  Not  'Are  you  obstinate?'  but  '  Do  you  stand 
aside  from  this  campaign?'  Titus  Lartius  is  old  and  'stiff',  with 
rheumatism,  perhaps. 

237.  Cominius,  who  takes  precedence  as  consul,  passes  Coriolanus 
with  a  bow  and  a  courteous  salutation. 

242.  Plutarch  makes  the  citizens  go  bravely  to  battle  when  the 
sedition  is  over  {North,  §§  18,  19).  Shakespeare  exaggerates  their 
cowardice,  in  order  to  provide  a  foil  to  Coriolanus,  and  to  explain 
his  contempt  of  them. 

243.  The  brief  scene  between  the  tribunes  calls  attention  to  them 
as  somewhat  important  factors  in  the  plot.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
they  misinterpret  Coriolanus,  being  as  unable  to  understand  his 
nature  as  he  is  unwilling  to  understand  the  plebeians. 

245.  The  tribunes  think  at  least  as  much  of  their  personal  dignity 
and  interest  as  of  the  people  they  represent. 

249.  devour  him,  an  optative  rather  than  an  indicative.'!*  Brutus 
goes  on,  '  Such  valour,  coupled  with  such  pride,  is  dangerous '. 

255.   whom,  for  'which';  cf.  Abbott,  §  264. 

263.  demerits.  Shakespeare  seems  occasionally  to  use  the  word 
as  equivalent,  and  not  as  opposed  to  'merits';  cf.  Othello,  i.  2.  22 — 

"My  demerits 
May  speak  unbonneted  to  as  proud  a  fortune 
As  this  that  I  have  reach'd  ". 

The  Latin  demereo  of  course  —  mereo.  In  Macbeth,  iv.  3.  226,  'de- 
merits' is  used  in  a  bad  sense;  it  only  occurs  thus  three  times.  But 
probably  it  was  originally  neutral,  like  '  deserts '.  Leo's  conjecture 
due  merits  is  attractive. 

269.  his  singularity,  with  what  troops,  to  back  up  his  personal 
valour,  which  will  count  for  more  than  anything  in  the  expedition. 

Scene  2. 

This  short  scene  serves  to  introduce  Aufidius,  and  completes  the 
change  of  interest  from  the  politics  of  Rome  to  her  external  wars. 

There  is  nothing  corresponding  directly  to  the  scene  in  Plutarch. 
Tullus  Aufidius  and  the  personal  rivalry  between  him  and  Coriolanus 
are  first  mentioned  at  a  later  period  {North,  §  72). 

2.  are  enter'd  in,  have  got  the  secret  of. 

4.  have.  So  F 1 ;  the  later  Ff.  read  hath.  '  Whatever'  is  apparently 
a  plural  here. 

6.  Had  circumvention,  i.e.  had  sufficient  warning  to  be  able  to 
circumvent  us. 

24.  ere  almost  Rome,  an  inversion  for  '  almost  ere  Rome ';  cf. 
i.  1.  33,  note. 


ioo  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

28.  for  the  remove,  i.e.  *  to  remove  them ',  ' to  raise  the  siege '. 
Sufficient  interval  elapses  between  scenes  1  and  2  to  allow  news 
from  Rome  to  reach  Corioles. 

Scene  3. 

Shakespeare  humanizes  his  plays  of  public  life  by  putting  his 
principal  characters  in  relation  to  women.  Volumnia  is  important 
for  the  sequel,  and  the  ideal  which  Coriolanus  has  before  him  is 
reflected  in  her,  for  she  has  inspired  it  and  helps  to  keep  it  alive. 
Virgilia,  tender  and  shy,  adds  the  touch  of  pathos  otherwise  lacking 
in  this  hard  play,  but  she  does  not  count  for  much  in  Coriolanus' 
life. 

The  names  of  Valeria,  Volumnia,  and  Virgilia  come  from  Plutarch 
{North,  §§  105-107),  who  also  mentions  Volumnia's  influence  over 
her  son  {North,  §§  10,  11),  and  Coriolanus'  winning  of  the  oaken 
crown  {North,  §  6).     Otherwise  the  scene  is  Shakespeare's  own. 

10.  if  renown  made  it  not  stir;  the  'it'  is,  I  think,  Marcius' 
'  person ',  his  noble  appearance,  which  would  better  become  the 
stirring  activity  of  war  than  the  repose  of  peace. 

12.  a  cruel  war,  the  battle  against  the  Tarquins  at  Lake  Regillus, 
according  to  Plutarch  {North,  §  5),  who  explains  that  the  oaken  gar- 
land was  the  reward  for  saving  a  fellow- Roman's  life  in  battle. 

24.  retire  myself:  for  the  reflexive  use,  cf.  Abbott,  §  296,  and 
Richard  II. ,  iv.  1.  96 — 

"And  toil'd  with  works  of  war,  retired  himself 
To  Italy". 

26.  hither;  another  inversion  for  'your  husband's  drum,  as  he 
comes  hither';  cf.  i.  I.  33,  note. 

27.  Steevens  read  down  Aitfidius  for  Aufidius  down,  on  account 
of  the  metre.     I  think  we  should  scan, 

See  him  pluck'  |  Aufi '  |  dius  |  down'  by  |  the  hair'. 

28.  from.  The  idea  of  'flying'  is  taken  out  of  'shunning';  other- 
wise '  shunning  from  a  bear '  would  not  be  strictly  idiomatic. 

30.  One  sees  that  Volumnia  encourages  her  son's  worser  side  as 
well  as  his  better. 

34.  to  mow  or  all,  another  inversion  for  'or  to  mow  all'; 
cf.  i.  1.  33,  note. 

35.  The  masculine  and  the  feminine  types  of  women  are  well  con- 
trasted in  Volumnia  and  Virgilia. 

40.  At  Grecian  sword,  contemning.     The  Ff.  readings  are — 
Fi,  'At  Grecian  sword.     Contenning,  tell  Valeria*, 
as  if  Contenning  were  the  name  of  the  gentlewoman. 


Scene  3.]  NOTES.  101 

F2,  'At  Grecian  swordes  Contending:  tell  Valeria  '. 
F3,  'At  Grecian  swords  Contending:  tell  Valeria'. 
F4,  'At  Grecian  swords  contending:  tell  Valeria'. 

Many  emendations  have  been  attempted,  but  I  think  the  choice  lies 
between  that  of  Collier  and  Leo  adopted  in  the  text,  and  Capell's — 

'  At  Grecian  swords'  contending '. 

I  prefer  the  former  as  giving  the  finest  sense  and  rhythm,  and  as 
coming  nearest  to  F 1. 

48.  you  are  manifest  house-keepers,  you  have  clearly  settled 
down  for  a  morning  indoors :  cf.  Cymbeline,  iii.  3.  I,  "A  goodly 
day  not  to  keep  house  ". 

49.  a  fine  spot,  a  pretty  pattern :  so  the  handkerchief  in  Othello, 
iii.  3.  435  is  '  spotted',  or  'embroidered'  'with  strawberries'. 

54.  the  father's  son.  I  think  there  is  a  bit  of  symbolism  here, 
of  a  more  direct  kind  than  is  usual  with  Shakespeare.  Just  as  the 
child  pursues  the  gilded  butterfly,  so  the  father  pursues  his  ideal  of 
honour,  and  in  the  end,  after  a  check,  himself  'mammocks '  it. 

56.  'has.  The  Ff.  have  ti  as  or  ha's.  The  pronoun  he  collo- 
quially becomes  a  and  then  is  altogether  omitted,  or  rather  merged 
with  the  following  verb.  Cf.  Abbott,  §§  400,  402.  The  usage  is 
frequent  in  Browning,  e.g.  in  Caliban  upon  Setebos : 

"'Will  sprawl,  now  that  the  heat  of  day  is  best, 
Flat  on  his  belly  in  the  pit's  much  mire  ",  &c. 

confirmed,  resolute. 

57.  a  gilded  butterfly.  Does  Shakespeare  mean  the  pale 
Sulphur,  or  the  orange  and  white  Orange-tip,  or  one  of  the  Clouded 
Yellows,  of  various  shades,  or  one  of  the  orange-brown  Fritillaries? 
'  Gilded '  is  not  a  very  happy  epithet  for  any  one  of  them,  but  on 
the  other  hand  it  hints  at  the  superficial  gloriousness  of  Coriolanus' 
ideal. 

63.  la,  a  common  Elizabethan  colloquialism,  used  to  strengthen 
an  assertion :  cf.  Glossary. 

64.  a  crack,  a  boy:  cf.  2  Henry  IV.,  iii.  2.  34,  "when  a'  was  a 
crack  net  thus  high  ".  The  term  is  slightly  depreciatory,  as  a  modern 
mother  might  speak  of  a  child  of  hers,  that  a  visitor  has  praised,  as 
'  a  little  imp '. 

67.  I  will  not  out  of  doors.  A  verb  of  motion  is  often  omitted 
after  an  auxiliary  expressing  intention :  cf.  Abbott,  §  405. 

99.  disease,  make  uneasy  or  uncomfortable. 
104.  at  a  word,  once  for  all. 

There  has  been  another  short  interval  between  scenes  2  and  3, 
leaving  time  for  news  from  the  Roman  army  to  reach  Rome. 


102  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Scenes  4-9. 

These  contain  a  single  dramatic  subject,  the  capture  of  Corioles 
and  defeat  of  the  Volsces.  Coriolanus  stands  forth  as  the  champion 
of  Rome.  His  intrepid  personal  valour  twice  turns  the  fortunes  of 
the  day.  Like  an  Homeric  chieftain  he  meets  the  leader  of  the 
enemy  in  single  combat.  His  single-eyed  pursuit  of  honour  bespeaks 
our  enthusiasm.  This  day's  deeds  make  him  a  hero,  putting  him  on 
such  a  level  that  his  ultimate  failure  shall  appear  as  a  real  tragedy. 
For  the  moment  his  worser  side  is  in  the  shade,  betraying  itself  only 
to  a  cool-headed  and  subtle  observation. 

The  narrative  follows  fairly  closely  after  Plutarch  {North,  §§21 
-30).  Shakespeare  has  added  no  incident  of  importance,  he  has, 
however,  made  a  slight  but  significant  alteration  in  the  episode  of 
the  Volscian  prisoner  (i.  9.  90,  note) ;  he  has  replaced  the  more 
general  account  of  the  second  fight  {North,  §  26)  by  the  duel  between 
Coriolanus  and  Aufidius;  and  he  has  put  the  events  of  scene  9  on 
the  day  of  the  battle  instead  of  on  the  day  after.  All  these  changes 
have  a  purpose.  The  first  brings  out  a  trait  in  Coriolanus'  character ; 
the  second  gives  variety,  and  emphasizes  the  personal  rivalry  with 
Aufidius ;  the  third  is  an  instance  of  the  common  dramatic  practice 
of  compressing  a  series  of  events  by  the  omission  of  intervals. 

Scene  4. 

Cf.  NortWs  Plutarch,  §§  20-22.  Cominius  has  divided  his  army 
into  two  parts :  one,  under  Coriolanus  and  Titus  Lartius,  he  sends  to 
assail  the  city;  with  the  other  he  himself  advances  to  meet  a  Volscian 
army  under  Tullus  Aufidius  in  the  open  field  hard  by  (cf.  i.  2.  25 
-29;  i.  3.  107-112;  North,  §20). 

1-7.  The  wager  is  not  in  Plutarch,  who,  however,  makes  Comi- 
nius present  Coriolanus  with  a  horse  after  the  battle  {North,  §  27 ; 
and  i.  9.  60). 

8.  mile  and  half.  Steevens  wished  to  omit  and  half,  because  of 
i.  6.  16,  "'Tis  not  a  mile",  but  this  small  kind  of  consistency  is  not 
to  be  expected  from  Shakespeare.  He  also  thought  the  change 
would  improve  the  metre;  but  there  is  nothing  unusual  in  the  6-foot 
line,  especially  as  it  is  broken:  cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  15  (i). 

12.  fielded  friends,  i.e.  *  friends  in  the  field':  cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 

14.  less  than  he,  Johnson  would  read  more  than  he ;  but  it  is 
Aufidius'  contempt  for  Coriolanus  on  which  stress  is  being  laid,  not 
that  of  the  other  Volsces. 

15.  lesser.  Double  comparatives  are  not  uncommon  in  Shake- 
speare: cf.  Abbott,  §  11. 

23.  forth,  an  adverb  used  as  a  preposition  ='  from ' :  cf.  Abbott, 
§156. 
26.  beyond  our  thoughts,  '  more  than  we  expected '. 


Scene  4.]  NOTES.  103 

30.  Upon  the  field  of  battle  and  in  the  presence  of  such  manifest 
cowardice,  Coriolanus'  habitual  language  towards  the  common  people 
seems  excusable  and  even  natural. 

the  south,  always  regarded  by  Shakespeare  as  a  malarious 
wind :  cf.  Tempest,  i.  2.  323 — 

"  A  south-west  blow  on  ye 
And  blister  you  all  o'er  ". 

31,  32.  The  arrangement  of  the  text  is  Johnson's.  Fi,  F2 
have: 

You  Shames  of  Rome;  you  Heard  of  Byles  and  Plagues 
Plaister  you  o're. 

Collier  read :   Unheard  of  boils  and  plagues. 

34.  Against  the  wind,  and  therefore  in  a  direction  where  infec- 
tion would  least  easily  be  carried. 

35.  Marcius'  language  reminds  one  of  a  boating  coach  in  a  temper 
and  rather  out  of  breath. 

38.  agued  fear,  fear  which  has  the  effect  of  an  ague:  cf.  i.  1.  90, 
note. 

home,  i.e.  right  into  the  enemy,  as  a  spear  'strikes  home'. 

42.  trenches  followed.  So  Ff.  2-4  :  Fi  has  followes.  The 
Clarendon  Press  editors  omit  the  word,  thinking  it  has  crept  in  from 
the  stage-direction  below.     Collier  reads :  trenches.     Follow! 

46.  Shakespeare  is  careful  to  admit  that  the  commoner  Romans 
are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  cowards. 

47.  To  th'  pot,  to  death.  We  still  say  in  slang  that  a  thing  has 
'gone  to  pot':  cf.  Peele,  Edward  I.  (ed.  Bullen,  i.  129) : 

"  King  Edward,  no :  we  will  admit  no  pause, 
For  goes  this  wretch,  this  traitor,  to  the  pot " ; 

and  Heywood's  Proverbs : 

"And  where  the  small  with  the  great  cannot  agree, 
The  weaker  goeth  to  the  pot  we  all  day  see  ". 

53.  'Who,  although  he  can  feel  pain,  outdares  his  sword  which 
cannot.' 

54.  stands.  Rowe's  emendation  of  the  Ff.  stand'st,  which  may 
be  justified  on  the  view  that  Lartius  is  now,  regardless  of  grammar, 
addressing  Coriolanus  directly. 

left,  possibly  '  forsaken ' ;  but  the  phrase  may  mean,  '  Thou 
art  Marcius  to  the  last'.  Editors  have  somewhat  feebly  proposed 
lost  and  reft. 

57.  Cato's  wish.  So  Theobald  for  the  Calues  wish  of  the  Ff. 
The  emendation  is  justified  by  North,  §  21 :  "  For  he  was  even  such 


104  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

another,  as  Cato  would  have  a  soldier  and  captain  to  be,  not  only 
terrible  and  fierce  to  lay  about  him,  but  to  make  the  enemy  afeard 
with  the  sound  of  his  voice  and  the  grimness  of  his  countenance  ". 

61.  Cf.  Macbeth,  ii.  3.  66— 

"Some  say  the  earth 
Was  feverous  and  did  shake  ". 

62.  make  remain,  '  stay  with  him ',  '  share  his  fate  \ 

Scene  5. 

The  looting  soldiers  contrast  ill  with  Coriolanus,  who  is  not,  of 
material  things  at  least,  covetous :  cf.  North,  §  23. 

Stage-direction,  with  a  trumpet,  i.e.  a  trumpeter. 

4.  these  movers.     The  term  is,  I  think,  ironical — 'these  idle 
fellows  who  are  loitering  when  they  should  be  moving '. 
hours.     Rowe  unnecessarily  proposed  honours. 

6.  of  a  doit,  •  worth  a  doit '.     In  iv.  4.  17  it= « about  a  doit  \ 
hangmen,  who  received  the  clothes  of  criminals  they  executed 
as  a  customary  perquisite. 

g.  noise,  i.e.  the  "alarum  afar  off"  (stage-direction  above). 

12.  make  good;  a  technical  military  term,  'make  safe  against 
attack  or  rescue '. 

24.  than  those.  The  grammar  is  a  little  loose.  '  Than  theirs ' 
would  be  more  precise. 

Scene  6. 

Cf.  North,  §§  24,  25. 

1.  Cominius'  manner  to  his  defeated  soldiers  contrasts  somewhat 
with  that  of  Coriolanus. 

2.  in  our  stands,  when  we  make  our  stands. 

6.  Ye  Roman  gods!  Lead.  So  Hanmer,  for  The  Roman  gods, 
Lead  of  the  Ff.  The  change  is  made  probable  by  the  you  of  line  9, 
and  the  error  of  the  Ff.  is  easily  explained  by  the  common  MS.  con- 
traction Ye  for  The. 

16.  briefly,  a  short  time  back :  cf.  Glossary. 

17.  confound,  waste :  cf.  Glossary. 

24.  Come  I  too  late  ?  North  in  a  passage  not  directly  used  by 
Shakespeare  (§  24)  describes  the  anxiety  of  Marcius  "that  he  might 
come  in  time  to  the  battle,  and  in  good  hour  to  hazard  his  life  in 
defence  of  his  countrymen  ".  But  in  Shakespeare  Marcius'  desire  is 
much  more  to  meet  Aufidius  than  to  defend  his  countrymen. 

27.  Cf.  iii.  2.  114,  note. 


Scene  7.]  NOTES.  105 

36.  him,  the  one.  For  the  use  in  antithesis  to  tJC  other  cf. 
Macbeth,  iv.  3.  80,  "Desire  his  jewels  and  this  other's  house". 

39.  The  metaphor  expresses  the  absolute  control  in  which  Titus 
Lartius  holds  Corioles.  The  to  let  him  slip  at  will  completes  the 
picture  of  the  leashed  greyhound,  but  has  no  particular  relevance  to 
the  comparison. 

42.  inform,  used  transitively  =' tell'. 

43.  Coriolanus  generally  becomes  a  little  incoherent  when  he 
speaks  of  or  to  'the  common  file'.     There  is  an  aposiopesis  here, 

•  the  common  file  [would  have  given  up  altogether]  \ 

46.  I  do  not  think.  So  the  Ff.  Editors  have  conjectured  think 
so  and  think  it.     But  apparently  the  object  is  omitted. 

53.  Antiates.  So  Pope  for  the  Antients  or  Ancients  of  the  Ff. 
The  emendation  is  justified  by  line  59,  "Aufidiusand  his  Antiates", 
and  North,  §  25. 

60.  delay  the  present,  '  remain  any  longer  in  our  present  con- 
dition of  retreat'. 

61.  advanced,  a  technical  term,  of  swords  or  banners  uplifted  for 
an  advance.  Cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet,  v.  3.  96,  "And  death's  pale 
flag  is  not  advanced  there  ". 

67.  Marcius'  speech  sets  forth  his  ideal  of  military  honour  in  its 
finest  aspect.  His  pettiness  has  disappeared  in  the  moment  of 
danger. 

68.  this  painting.  Cf.  King  John,  iv.  2.  253,  "painted  with 
the  crimson  drops  of  blood  ". 

70.  lesser:  cf.  i.  4.  15,  note. 

his  person,  i.e.  '  danger  to  his  person '. 

76.  O,  me  alone !  make  you  a  sword  of  me  ?  This  is  nearly 
the  reading  of  the  Ff. :  O  me  alone,  make  you  a  sword  of  me.  Various 
emendations  have  been  proposed,  e.g.  Let  me  alone  (Heath);  Of  me 
alone  (Collier);  0,  come  along  (Singer);  0,  me  aloft  (Leo);  but  all 
are  quite  unnecessary.  Coriolanus  protests  good-humouredly  against 
his  'chairing'.  He  says,  'Is  it  me  alone  you  'advance'?  Advance 
your  swords  rather '. 

83.  As  cause  will  be  obey'd,  as  occasion  shall  arise. 

84.  And  four  shall.  This  again  has  been  freely  emended :  e.g. 
And  I  shall  (Hudson);  And  some  shall  (Singer);  but  there  seems  no 
reason  for  altering  the  Ff.  text.  The  'four'  are  the  subordinate 
officers  to  whom   Coriolanus  assigns  the  duty  of  picking  out  his 

*  command  \ 

Scene  7. 

This  has  no  direct  parallel  in  Plutarch. 


106  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I. 

Scene  8 

Cf.  North,  §  26 ;  but  instead  of  representing  the  whole  battle,  an 
impossibility  on  the  stage,  Shakespeare  has  concentrated  attention 
on  the  protagonists,  Coriolanus  and  Aufidius. 

4.  and  envy,  i.e.  'your  envy  of  me,  your  better'.  But  possibly 
'envy'  is  a  verb,  co-ordinate  with  'abhor';  cf.  North,  §  72,  "Tullus 
did... malice  and  envy  him".  In  Shakespeare  ' envy'  has  much  the 
general  sense  of  'hatred';  cf.  iii.  3.  3,  "  his  envy  to  the  people". 

12.  the  whip  of  your  bragg'd  progeny.  The  'bragged  pro- 
geny' is  of  course  the  Trojans,  from  whom  the  Romans  claimed 
descent,  'progeny'  being  used  in  the  general  sense  of  'race'.  Hector 
was  the  Trojan  t  whip '  or  champion.  t  But  the  taunt  would  be  more 
effective  if  Aufidius  swore  'by  him  who  whipped  your  ancestors'. 
Has  he  confused  Hector  and  Achilles? 

15.  'By  seconding  me  in  such  a  damned  cowardly  fashion.' 

Scene  9. 

Cf.  North,  §§  27-30.  Shakespeare,  however,  puts  this  scene  on 
the  day  of  the  battle,  Plutarch  on  the  day  after.  Now  that  the 
flurry  of  the  battle  is  over,  we  have  time  to  notice  Coriolanus  a  little 
more  closely,  and  observe  the  points  of  weakness  peeping  out  be- 
neath his  armour  of  valour  and  magnanimity.  This  scene  is  pro- 
phetic of  the  next  act. 

2.  Thou 'It.  S0F4;  Ff.  1-3  have  Thou't.  'Will'  not  unfre- 
quently  follows  'should',  where  we  should  expect  'would'.  C£ 
Comedy  of  Errors,  i.  2.  85 — 

"  If  I  should  pay  your  worship  those  again, 
Perchance  you  will  not  bear  them  patiently". 

4.  and  shrug ;  the  great  patricians  being  naturally  cynics.  Cf. 
"  And  those  who  came  to  scoff  remained  to  pray  ". 

7.  plebeians.  Accent  'plebeians';  and  cf.  Essay  on  Metre, 
§  10  (i). 

11.  Having  fully  dined  before,  i.e.  in  taking  Corioles. 

12.  Coriolanus  is  the  horse,  the  other  generals  merely  his  trap- 
pings. The  metaphor,  like  the  wager  in  i.  4.  1-7,  is  apparently,  as 
Delius  points  out,  suggested  by  the  mention  in  North,  §  27,  of  "a 
goodly  horse  with  a  caparison"  given  by  Cominius  to  Marcius;  cf. 
i.  9.  60. 

13.  The  humility  of  Coriolanus  only  covers  a  subtler  pride.  He 
will  not  be  praised  for  his  valour,  for  that  praise  implies  that  he  has 
done  something  exceptional  and  surprising ;  and  he  does  not  wish 
brave  deeds  to  be  thought  exceptional  and  surprising  in  him. 

ig.  Hath  overta'en  mine  act,  has  done  more  than  I  have,  for 
I  have  not  done  all  I  would. 


Scene  9.]  NOTES.  107 

22.  a  traducement,  a  slander.  '  To  keep  silence  would  be  to 
rob  you  of  the  good  name  you  deserve,  and  this  would  be  worse 
than  an  ordinary  theft.' 

29.  Should  they  not,  i.e.  should  they  not  hear  themselves  remem- 
bered. 

31.  tent  themselves,  probe  themselves,  make  themselves  smart, 
not  with  being  spoken  of,  but  with  death. 

37.  Coriolanus  is  genuinely  uncovetous  of  money :  to  soil  his 
hands  with  a  reward  would  not  be  consistent  with  his  conception  of 
himself. 

41-47.  This  is  the  most  difficult  passage  in  the  play.  F  1  reads — 
the  variations  in  Ff.  2-4  are  unimportant— 

May  these  same  Instruments,  which  you  profane, 
>  Never  sound  more:  when  Drums  and  Trumpets  shall 

P  tti  field  prove  flatterers,  let  Courts  and  Cities  be 
Made  all  of  false-faced  soothing: 
When  Steele  grows  soft,  as  the  Parasites  Silke, 
Let  him  be  made  an  Overture  for  th'  Warres: 
No  more  I  say,  for  that  I  have  not  washed,  &c. 

In  line  43  Warburton  proposed  to  read  let  camps,  as  cities,  on  the 
ground  that  cities  being  already  corrupt,  do  not  need  the  example  of 
camps  to  become  so.  Shakespeare's  point,  however,  is,  '  If  camps 
become  flatterers,  then  let  us  not  be  surprised  that  courts  and  cities 
are  altogether  given  up  to  flattery '.  Clarke  quotes  a  parallel  use 
of  '  let '  from  Hamlet,  iii.  4.  82 — 

"  Rebellious  hell, 
If  thou  canst  mutine  in  a  matron's  bones, 
To  flaming  youth  let  virtue  be  as  wax, 
And  melt  in  her  own  fire  ". 

The  real  crux  lies  in  line  46,  Let  him  be  made  an  overture  for  the 
wars.  *  Overture '  can  only  mean  here  a  *  proposal '  or  '  offer '  of 
war,  as  in  Twelfth  Night,  i.  5.  225,  "I  bring  no  overture  of  war"; 
and  how  then  can  either  ' steel ',  or  'a  parasite ',  or  ' silk '  be  ' an 
overture '  ?  Warburton  proposed  let  hymns  be  made,  and  Schmidt, 
in  his  Lexicon,  be  made  an  overseer.  Amongst  many  other  ingenious 
emendations  not  the  least  is  also  due  to  Schmidt,  who  would  re- 
arrange the  lines  thus — 

When  drums  and  trumpets  shall 

T  th? field prove  flatterers,  let  'em  be  made 

An  overture  for  tfC  wars  no  more,  1  say! 

When  steel  grcnus  soft  as  th'  parasite's  silk,  ut  courts 

And  cities  be  made  all  of  false-faced  soothing. 

It  seems  to  me  impossible  to  maintain  overture;  I  have  therefore 
adopted  Tyrwhitt's  conjecture  of  ccrverture,  referring  it  to  '  steel '.  I 
have  also,  wth  several  editors,  slightly  rearranged  the  lines  so  as  to 


108  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  I.  Sc.  10. 

bring  no  more  I  say  into  the  first  instead  of  the  second  period  of  the 
speech.  This  avoids  two  unmotived  short  lines  in  lines  44  and  50. 
It  also  makes  Coriolanus'  wish  about  the  steel  parallel  to  his  wish 
about  the  instruments,  '  Let  these  degenerate  instruments  and  this 
degenerate  steel  be  used  for  war  no  more '. 

46.  him.  The  masculine  appears  to  be  used  for  the  neuter. 
Perhaps  the  common  use  of  his  as  the  genitive  alike  of  he  and  it 
(cf.  i.  1.  108,  note)  may  have  led  to  this  irregularity. 

51,  52.  *  As  if  I  loved  my  small  achievement  should  be  stuffed  out, 
made  to  appear  bigger  than  it  is. '  For  '  in '  instead  of  '  with  '  after 
'dieted',  cf.  Lover's  Complaint,  261,  "disciplined,  ay,  dieted  in 
grace  ". 

54.  give  you,  represent  you. 

64.  Caius  Marcius.  Here  and  in  line  66,  as  well  as  in  other 
places,  the  Ff.  read  Marcus  Caius  or  Marcius  Caius. 

65.  addition,  often  in  the  sense  of  'title',  or  what  we  call  'a 
handle  to  one's  name '. 

67.  Coriolanus  behaves  as  one  glad  to  get  his  glorification  over, 
and  escape  to  more  important  business. 
71.  under  ere  st,  wear  it  as  a  crest. 

88.  free  as  is  the  wind,  cf.  As  You  Like  It,  ii.  7.  47 — 

"  I  must  have  liberty 
Withal,  as  large  a  charter  as  the  wind 
To  blow  on  whom  I  please  "; 

and  Tempest,  i.  2.  498 — 

"  Thou  shalt  be  free 
As  mountain  winds  ". 

89.  By  Jupiter!  forgot.  This  is  a  very  characteristic  touch 
added  by  Shakespeare  to  Plutarch's  account.  Coriolanus'  request 
is  made  entirely  out  of  a  sense  of  what  his  own  magnanimity  requires 
of  him.  His  real  interest  in  the  prisoner,  except  as  an  occasion  for 
the  exercise  of  this  virtue,  is  nothing. 

Scenes  4-9  may  be  taken  as  occurring  at  much  the  same  time  as 
scene  3.     They  cover  a  single  day. 

Scene  10. 

The  chief  object  of  this  scene  is  to  keep  Aufidius  and  his  Volscians 
before  us.  They  will  have  a  part  to  play  later  on,  and  must  not 
therefore  be  forgotten. 

The  scene  has  no  direct  equivalent  in  Plutarch.  Aufidius  and  his 
rivalry  with  Coriolanus  are  first  mentioned  in  North,  §  71. 

4,  5.  '  As  a  Volsce,  I  can  only  be  a  defeated  man,  and  that  doesn't 
suit  my  real  character.' 


Act  II.  Sc.  i.]  NOTES.  109 

5.  condition.  There  is  a  pun  on  the  two  senses  of  the  word, 
as  (a)  terms,  (b)  quality,  character.  The  puns  in  Shakespeare's  later 
plays  are  mostly  of  this  grimly  ironical  character. 

13.  Coleridge's  criticism  deserves  quoting:  "  I  have  such  deep 
faith  in  Shakespeare's  heart-lore,  that  I  take  it  for  granted  that  this 
is  in  nature,  and  not  a  mere  anomaly;  although  I  cannot  in  myself 
discover  any  germ  of  possible  feeling  which  could  wax  and  unfold 
itself  into  such  a  sentiment  as  this.  However,  I  presume  that  in 
this  speech  is  meant  to  be  contained  a  prevention  of  shock  at  the 
after-change  in  Aufidius'  character." 

where,  whereas;  cf.  i.  I.  91,  and  Abbott,  §  134. 

16.   Or...or=* either... or';  cf.  Abbott,  §  136. 

22.  embarquements,  restraints;  cf.  Glossary. 
,  25.  upon  my  brother's  guard,  were  my  brother  guarding  him. 

26.  the  hospitable  canon,  the  laws  of  hospitality.  Almost  any 
relation  between  two  noun-ideas  can  be  expressed  in  Shakespeare 
by  making  one  of  them  an  adjective  of  the  other;  cf.  ii.  I.  158,  note. 

31.  south  the  city  mills.  So  F 1.  Tyrwhitt  conjectured  '  south  the 
city  a  mile',  on  the  ground  that  Shakespeare  could  not  have  known 
anything  about  mills  at  Antium.  But,  as  M alone  points  out, 
"Shakespeare  frequently  introduces  these  minute  local  descriptions, 
probably  to  give  an  air  of  truth  to  his  pieces.  So  in  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  i.  I.  128— 

*  underneath  the  grove  of  Sycamore, 
That  westward  rooteth  from  the  city's  side'." 

Nor  is  it  necessary,  with  the  Clarendon  Press  editor,  to  point  out 
that  at  any  rate  there  were  mills  on  the  Thames  near  the  Globe 
Theatre. 

31-33.  A  somewhat  elaborate  way  of  saying,  *  Let  me  know  how 
things  are,  that  I  may  direct  my  actions  accordingly '. 

Scene  10  may  be  supposed  to  take  place  on  the  same  day  as 
scenes  4-9.  It  is  followed  by  an  interval,  during  which  Coriolanus 
and  the  army  returned  to  Rome. 


Act  II.— Scene  I. 


The  subject  of  the  first  act  was  the  nobility  of  Coriolanus;  for  all 
his  faults  he  is  lifted  before  our  eyes  to  an  heroic  level.  The  subject 
of  the  second  act  is  his  inherent  weakness,  leading  up  to  and  explain- 
ing the  tragic  crisis  of  his  fate  in  the  third  act.  The  first  need  for  a 
would-be  leader  of  men  is  a  certain  sympathy  with  average  everyday 
humanity.  Of  this  Coriolanus  has  nothing;  he  is  too  completely 
self-centred  and  self-absorbed.     It  is  the  function  of  the  second  act 


no  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

to  bring  this  out,  and  to  show  how  irreconcilable  is  the  hostility 
between  him  and  the  plebeians.  The  crucial  test  of  this  is  the  can- 
vassing for  the  consulship,  in  which  Coriolanus'  insolent  demeanour 
gives  occasion  to  his  enemies  the  tribunes  to  destroy  the  momentary 
popularity  which  he  has  won  by  his  valour. 

Scene  I  prepares  the  way  for  new  interests.  The  war  is  over; 
civil  affairs  come  to  the  front.  The  conversation  of  Menenius  and 
the  tribunes  (lines  1-89)  shows  us  how  politics  stand  in  Rome  before 
Coriolanus'  return.  The  rest  of  the  scene  shows  the  sort  of  welcome 
he  receives  from  patricians  (lines  90-194)  and  plebeians  (lines  195 
-260). 

The  scene  is  not  taken  from  Plutarch.  Shakespeare  omits  what 
is  contained  in  North,  §§  33-35,  the  colonization  of  Velitres,  and 
the  forays  against  the  Antiates.  In  the  play  these  could  only  be 
episodes,  obscuring  the  main  dramatic  march  of  the  plot.  The 
dearth  and  second  sedition,  which  in  North,  §  32,  follows  the  war 
with  Corioles,  has  already  been  merged  by  Shakespeare  with  the 
earlier  sedition  in  act  i.  scene  I. 

1.  Menenius,  not  a  very  serious  politician,  nor  personally  very 
dignified,  finds  it  exceedingly  amusing  to  '  roast '  the  tribunes.  He 
does  not,  however,  come  off  without  some  home-truths  in  return. 
Shakespeare  is  fairly  impartial  in  his  analysis  of  the  weaknesses  of 
both  parties.  To  his  cynical  point  of  view  there  is  not  much  to 
choose  between  them.  And  how  vivid  and  characteristic  his  por- 
traits are.  Just  so  might  a  genial  Pall- Mall  club-man  and  a  couple 
of  London  county-councillors  satirize  each  other  to-day. 

6.  who,  somewhat  loose  grammar  for  '  whom  *;  cf.  Abbott,  §  274. 

14.  In... in.  The  preposition  is  sometimes  repeated  for  the  sake 
of  clearness  when  it  has  occurred  a  good  way  back  in  the  sentence; 
cf.  Abbott,  §  407. 

16.  It  can  only  be  by  accident  that  this  prose  line  falls  into  a 
blank-verse  rhythm. 

20.  censured,  esteemed,  regarded;  cf.  Glossary. 

o'  th'  right-hand  file,  the  patricians,  who,  to  Menenius,  are 
*  the  city'. 

25.  After  all  the  tribunes  keep  their  tempers  a  good  deal  better 
than  Menenius,  who  sets  out  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  irritat- 
ing them,  and  becomes  very  testy,  just  as  he  did  in  act  i.  scene  I, 
when  the  tables  are  turned  against  himself. 

33.  single,  with  a  play  on  the  sense  of  'simple',  'feeble':  cf. 
2  Henry  IV.,  i.  2.  207,  "your  chin  double,  your  wit  single". 

35.  Johnson  finds  here  an  "allusion  to  the  fable,  which  says  that 
every  man  has  a  bag  hanging  before  him  in  which  he  puts  his  neigh- 
bours' faults,  and  another  behind  him  in  which  he  stows  his  own  ". 

42.  Menenius  admits  that  he  has  failings,  but  implies  they  are  the 
failings  of  a  good  fellow  and  a  gentleman.     The  tribunes  don't  think 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  in 

that  to  be  a  good  fellow  and  a  gentleman  counts  for  much,  and  sum 
him  up  pretty  smartly  in  1.  72. 

42.  humorous,  whimsical :  cf.  Glossary. 

43.  allaying  Tiber.  Steevens  pointed  out  an  imitation  of  this 
phrase  in  Lovelace's  lines  To  Althea  from  Prison — 

"  When  flowing  cups  run  swiftly  round, 
*         With  no  allaying  Thames  ". 

44.  i.e.  'not  perhaps  a  man  of  very  cautious  or  judicial  disposi- 
tion '.  Menenius  is  not,  like  the  tribunes,  of  the  '  magistrate '  order  of 
mind,  which  he  further  describes  in  lines  60-70.  No  emendation  is 
required,  certainly  not  Collier's  the  thirst  complaint,  or  Leo's  savour- 
ing the  feast  (or  fish)  of  Lent. 

45.  motion,  motive:  cf.  Glossary. 

,  46.  the  buttock  of  the  night,  i.e.  the  small  hours  of  the  night. 
For  the  expression  cf.  Lovis  Labour's  Lost,  v.  1.  94,  "in  the  pos- 
teriors of  the  day,  which  the  rude  multitude  call,  the  afternoon",  and 
2  Henry  LV.,  iv.  4.  91 — 

"  Thou  art  a  summer  bird, 

Which  ever  in  the  haunch  of  winter  sings 

The  lifting  up  of  day  ". 

49.  Lycurguses.     Lycurgus  was  the  wise  lawgiver  of  Sparta. 

50.  cannot.     So  Capell  for  the  can  of  the  Ff. 

52.  the  ass  in  compound  with  the  major  part  of  your 
syllables,  i.e.  *  nearly  every  word  a  foolish  one'.  Menenius,  out  of 
irony,  speaks  in  elaborate  phrases,  intended  to  be  over  the  heads  of 
the  tribunes. 

55.  the  map  of  my  microcosm,  that  is  'in  my  face',  which  is 
to  the  '  microcosm '  man,  what  a  map  is  to  the  '  macrocosm '  the 
world.  See  Glossary  s.v.  microcosm.  A  face  is  elsewhere  compared 
to  a  map :  cf.  Sonnet,  lxviii.  I — 

"  Thus  is  his  cheek  the  map  of  days  outworn  ". 

56.  known  well  enough  too.  Menenius  takes  this  in  the  sense 
in  which  Sicinius  meant  it  (line  41),  i.e.  'pretty  notorious',  'known 
well  enough  and  not  thought  much  of.  The  phrase  rankles  a 
little. 

57.  bisson.  So  Theobald  for  the  beesome  of  F  1,  F  2.  The  word, 
which  =  '  purblind',  is  preserved  in  Hamlet,  ii.  2.  529.  Cf.  Glossary. 
Mr.  A.  P.  Paton  upholds  besom  in  the  sense  of  '  sweeping '. 

61.  for. ..caps  and  legs,  i.e.  'to  be  bowed  and  scraped  to'. 

62.  The  tribunes  did  not  decide  law-suits,  but  of  course  Shake- 
speare has  in  mind  the  city  justices  of  his  own  day. 

63.  forset-seller.  So  F  1-3  :  F  4  has  fauset-seller.  Most 
editors  read  with  Rowe,  fosset-seller;  i.e.  seller  of  faucets  or  wine- 
taps  :  but  Mr.  A.  P.  Paton  found  from  Gouldman's  Dictionary  that 

(M415)  I 


H2  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

Forset  is  the  equivalent  of  Cistella,  Arcell^,  &c. ,  'a  little  Chest,  Cas- 
ket, or  Coffer'. 

64.  of  threepence,  'about  threepence':  cf.  iv.  4.  17,  "of  a 
doit ". 

66.  faces  like  mummers,  i.e,  the  absurdly  exaggerated  contor- 
tions of  the  performers  in  a  country  mumming,  or  Christmas  play. 

67.  set  up  the  bloody  flag,  i.e.  'declare  war';  a  red  flag  being 
the  sign  of  battle. 

72,  73.  perfecter...than  a  necessary,  i.e.  'more  perfect  as  a 
witty  diner-out  than  necessary  as  a  statesman '.  The  Comparative 
'  perfecter '  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 

74.  Menenius  has  become  more  abusive  than  witty.  The  shaft  of 
the  tribunes,  who  hinted  that  even  by  the  patricians  he  is  not  taken 
very  seriously,  has  gone  home. 

80.  in  a  cheap  estimation,  without  exaggerating  his  value. 

83.  being,    'you  being';   the  participial  phrase  is  not  strictly' 
connected  with  either  the  subject  or  the  object  of  the  main  sentence, 
but  loosely  with  '  your '. 

86.  Again  there  is  a  strong  contrast  between  Menenius'  manner 
towards  the  tribunes  and  that  towards  the  noble  ladies  of  his  own 
order. 

g4.  Take  my  cap,  Jupiter.  Menenius  throws  up  his  cap  to 
Jupiter,  god  of  the  sky.  It  was  a  somewhat  undignified  proceeding 
for  a  patrician :  cf.  i.  I.  203,  note. 

gg.  a  letter  for  me.  Menenius'  affection  for  Coriolanus  is  the 
one  serious  emotion  he  displays.  He  proposes  to  celebrate  the  joy- 
ful event  in  a  characteristic  fashion  by  getting  drunk. 

104.  Galen,  an  anachronism,  of  course.  Galen  was  born  in 
131  A.D. 

in.  On  's  brows,  i.e.  '  he  brings  victory  on 's  brows '. 

112.  the  oaken  garland:  cf.  i.  3.  13,  note. 

113.  disciplined,  as  we  say  'given  him  a  lesson',  or  as  an  East 
End  mother  says  to  her  brat,  '  I  '11  teach  yer '. 

117.  ndiused,  a  humorously-formed  verb  from  Aufidius'  name. 
Mr.  Beeching  compares  Henry  V.,  iv.  4.  29,  "  Master  Fer!  I  '11  fer 
him",  and  Merry  Wives,  iv.  2.  19,  "Come,  mother  Prat;  I'll  prat 
her". 

122.  name,  i.e.  fame,  honour. 

128.  pow  waw.  Volumnia  thinks  her  gentle  daughter-in-law  a 
poor  creature. 

130.  your  good  worships.  Menenius  has  quite  recovered  his 
good-humour,  even  with  the  tribunes. 

134.  his  place,  the  consulship. 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  113 

136.  nine.  Menenius  is  not  adding  three  to  Volumnia's  seven  and 
making  nine  of  them.  He  corrects  her  number  by  adding  up  all  the 
Tarquin  wounds,  first  aloud,  then  to  himself,  and  finds  there  were 
nine. 

144.  noise,  t\e.  music:  cf.  Glossary. 

145.  nervy,  sinewy:  cf.  i.  1.  131,  note. 

146.  On  the  rhyme-tag,  cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §17  (a), 
declines,  falls. 

Stage*direction.  Mr.  Daniel  proposed  to  omit  and  Titus  Lartius, 
on  the  ground  that,  as  i.  9.  74  and  ii.  2.  34  show,  he  was  still  at 
Corioles.  But,  as  Mr.  Beeching  points  out,  it  is  clear  from  the 
words  between  them,  and  from  the  "  You  are  three"  of  line  176,  that 
the  slip  is  Shakespeare's. 
,   149.   to,  in  addition  to. 

150.  Coriolanus.  So  Steevens  for  the  Martius  Caius  Coriolanus 
oftheFf.     Scan 

"In  hon'-  I  our  fol'-  |  lows —  |  Co'ri-  |  ola'(nus) ". 

The  third  foot  is  completed  by  a  pause,  to  give  due  emphasis  to 
the  resounding  name  which  follows.     Cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  14. 

153.  Again,  as  in  i.  9.  13,  Coriolanus  affects  an  humility  which 
he  does  not  really  feel.  But  here  it  is  the  plaudits  of  the  multitude 
which  offend  him,  far  more  than  the  individual  congratulations  of 
the  patricians. 

156.  my  good  soldier.  'My  soldier',  not  'my  son';  this  is 
characteristic  of  Volumnia. 

158.  deed-achieving  honour,  'honour  won  by  achieving  deeds '. 
Another  instance  of  Shakespeare's  habit  of  expressing  almost  any 
relation  between  two  ideas  by  making  one  of  them  an  adjective  of 
the  other :  cf.  i.  10.  26,  note. 

160.  My  gracious  silence.  Coriolanus  rarely  speaks  to  his 
wife;  she  rarely  speaks  at  all:  we  are  left  to  infer  the  relations  be- 
tween them.  Yet  in  Virgilia  is  the  whole  tenderness  of  the  play; 
she  provides  the  necessary  touches  of  pathos  without  which  the 
tragedy  would  be  hard  and  unrelieved. 

165.  live  you  yet?  For  the  form  of  greeting  to  Menenius,  cf.  that 
of  Benedick  to  Beatrice  in  Much  Ado,  i.  I.  119,  "What,  my  dear 
Lady  Disdain,  are  you  yet  living?" 

171.  You.     So  Ff.  2-4  for  the  Yon  of  F  1. 

173.  some  old  crab-trees,  i.e.  the  tribunes. 

174.  to  your  relish,  so  as  to  bear  fruit  to  your  taste.  The  meta- 
phor is  much  the  same  as  that  of  lines  50,  51. 

175.  '  The  tribunes  are  fools,  but  they  are  as  little  worth  con- 
sidering as  those  equally  unpleasant  weeds,  the  nettles.'  Not  a  very 
wise  bit  of  political  prophecy  on  Menenius'  part. 


114  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

177.  Menenius,  ever,  ever.  Editors  quote  as  a  parallel,  Julius 
Ccesar,  v.  I.  63,  "Old  Cassius  still";  but  surely  Coriolanus  is  only 
courteously  assenting  to  the  *  ever  right '  of  Cominius. 

182.  change  of  honours,  i.e.  fresh  honours,  as  in  the  phrase  'a 
change  of  raiment '. 

185.  one  thing  wanting,  i.e.  the  consulship. 

187.  This  eminently  characteristic  sentiment  is  prophetic  of  Corio- 
lanus' approaching  failure. 

Brutus  and  Sicinius  come  forward.  The  F  I  stage-direction  is 
Enter  Brutus  and  Sicinius.  Mr.  P.  A.  Daniel  would  begin  a  new 
scene  here,  but  I  do  not  see  any  necessity  for  this.  The  tribunes 
have  hitherto  been  standing  gloomily  in  the  background. 

i8g.  The  discourse  of  the  tribunes  shows  that,  at  the  very  moment 
of  Coriolanus'  triumph,  he  is  near  an  unsuspected  downfall. 

This  elaborate  description  would  be  out  of  place  in  a  modern 
play,  because  the  increased  capabilities  of  stage  effect  would  allow 
the  scene  to  be  represented  more  effectually  to  the  eye.  But  for  the 
rudimentary  condition  of  the  Elizabethan  theatre,  we  should  have 
lost  some  of  Shakespeare's  finest  descriptive  passages. 

190.  to  see  him,  i.e.  by  seeing  him.  •  His  return  gives  sight  to 
the  blind.'  This  seems  more  probable  than  '  Old  men  hurry  to  put 
on  their  spectacles  to  see  him  '. 

your,  the  ethic  pronoun,  used  colloquially:  cf.  the  use  of 
'me'  in  i.  I.  117,  and  Abbott,  §221.  Abbott  quotes  Antony  and 
Cleopatra,  ii.  7.  29,  "  your  serpent  of  Egypt  is  lord  now  of  your  mud 
by  the  operation  of  your  sun ;  so  is  your  crocodile  ".  Cf.  also  i.  I.  121, 
"your  most  grave  belly". 

igi.  rupture.  So  an  anonymous  critic  for  the  rapture  of  the  Ff. 
The  emendation  is  supported  by  the  following  quotation  from  Phiora- 
vantis  Secrets  (1582):  "To  helpe  yong  Children  of  the  Rupture. 
The  Rupture  is  caused  two  waies,  the  one  through  weaknesse  of  the 
place,  and  the  other  through  much  crying ".  Rapture  is  explained 
as  = '  fit ' ;  but  the  only  evidence  for  this  use  is  a  quotation  by 
Steevens  from  The  Hospital  for  London's  Follies  (1602),  "  Your  dar- 
ling will  weep  itself  into  a  rapture,  if  you  take  not  good  heed  ".  Un- 
fortunately, as  is  occasionally  the  case  with  books  referred  to  by 
Steevens,  the  \  Puck  of  Commentators ',  The  Hospital  for  London's 
Follies  does  not  appear  to  exist  or  to  have  existed. 

192.  chats  him,  chats  about  him.  For  the  omission  of  the  pre- 
position, cf.  Abbott,  §  200,  and  ii.  2.  107,  "  I  cannot  speak  him 
home  ". 

ig5.  horsed,  treated  as  horses,  bestridden. 

196.  variable,  various. 

199.  a  vulgar  station,  a  station  among  the  common  crowd. 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  115 

200.  the  war  of  white  and  damask.     Cf.  Lucrece,  71 — 

"  Their  silent  war  of  lilies  and  of  roses, 
Which  Tarquin  viewed  in  her  fair  face's  field  ". 

201.  nicely-gawded,  carefully  adorned. 

205.   On  the  sudden,  i.e.  in  his  present  flush  of  popularity. 

208.  '  He  cannot  run  his  whole  course  from  beginning  to  end 
without  giving  offence.' 

212.    Upon,  on  the  ground  of. 

218.  napless.     So  Rowe,  for  the  Naples  of  the  Ff. 

vesture  of  humility.  It  was  a  Roman  custom  for  an  aspir- 
ant to  office  to  appear  at  his  canvassing  in  a  clean  white  tunic  {can- 
didates, candidate),  without  a  toga  over  it.  Plutarch  gives  humility 
as  one  possible  explanation  of  this  custom.  He  thinks  it  may  also 
h,ave  been  for  convenience  in  displaying  wounds. 

226.  as  our  good  wills,  either,  destructive  as  our  dispositions 
towards  him  are,  or,  as  our  advantage  requires. 

228.  For  an  end,  either,  in  short,  or,  to  bring  matters  to  a 
crisis. 

229.  suggest,  suggest  to.  Cf.  Richard  II,  i.  1.  101,  "suggest 
his  soon-believing  adversaries  ". 

230.  still,  constantly. 

to  's  power,  to  the  extent  of  his  power. 

232.  Dispropertied  their  freedoms,  made  their  freedom  no 
freedom,  taken  its  properties  or  qualities  from  it.  The  verb  does 
not  occur  elsewhere. 

235.  their  war.  So  the  Ff.  Most  editors  accept  Hanmer's  the 
war,  but  I  think  the  pronoun  has  its  point.  Coriolanus  and  the 
patricians  think  that  the  wars  concern  them  alone:  they,  not  the 
plebeians,  are  the  city. 

239.  touch.     So  Hanmer  for  the  teach  of  the  Ff. 

245.  The  pause  may  be  explained  by  the  messenger  being  out  of 
breath.     Cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  15  (ii)  (d). 

253.  '  Let  us  only  observe  for  the  present,  and  have  courage  to 
act  when  the  issue  requires  it.' 

There  is  an  interval  between  act  i.  and  act  ii.,  during  which 
Cominius  and  Coriolanus  return  to  Rome. 

Scene  2. 

The  interest  is  now  concentrated  upon  Coriolanus'  candidature  for 
the  consulship.  He  has  everything  in  his  favour — the  good-will  of 
the  senate,  and  the  halo  of  a  successful  general.  But  his  marked 
unwillingness  to  submit  to  what  he  regards  as  the  degrading  for- 


u6  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

malities  of  a  canvass,  and  the  tone  which  he  throughout  adopts  in 
speaking  of  the  people,  are  not  ominous  of  success. 

There  is  not  much  direct  material  for  this  scene  in  Plutarch,  who, 
however,  describes  the  Roman  custom  of  canvassing  (North,  §  37). 
In  Shakespeare,  Coriolanus  stands  for  the  consulship  immediately 
after  his  return  from  Corioles :  in  Plutarch,  the  two  events  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  second  mutiny  due  to  famine,  a  colonization  of  Velitres, 
and  some  forays  against  the  Antiates  (North,  §§  32-35). 

1-32.  The  officers  are  in  sympathy  by  birth  with  the  plebeians, 
and  by  office  with  the  patricians.  They  are  not  therefore  extreme 
on  either  side,  and  their  judgment  of  Coriolanus  has  the  more 
weight. 

5.  vengeance  proud.  The  use  of  the  noun  as  an  adverb  pro- 
bably arose  out  of  its  use  in  oaths.  Cf.  iii.  I.  262,  "  What,  the 
vengeance  ". 

7.  hath.  So  F1-3;  F4  has  have.  The  singular  verb  with  a 
plural  noun  is  more  common  in  Shakespeare  than  the  texts  of  modern 
editors  let  us  suppose.     Cf.  Abbott,  §§  333-338. 

12.  in,  of,  about:  cf.  Abbott,  §  162. 

16.  waved,  would  wave:  cf.  Abbott,  §  361.  There  is  a  con- 
fusion here  of  two  constructions :  (a)  He  waved  'twixt  doing  them 
good  and  harm ;  (b)  He  would  do  them  neither  good  nor  harm. 

24.  bonneted,  took  off  their  bonnets,  winning  the  people's  esti- 
mation by  nothing  else  than  flattery.  Knight  and  Staunton  give  the 
word  the  unusual  sense  of '  put  on  their  bonnets ',  laying  stress  on 
having.  'After  being  supple  and  courteous  (and  so  having  won 
their  ends)  they  put  on  their  bonnets,  and  took  no  more  trouble.' 

25.  have.  So  Ff. ;  Pope  read  heave.  But  '  have '  has  the  sense 
of  •  carry ',  ?  move ' :  cf.  the  common  phrase,  '  I  '11  have  you  out  of 
that ',  and  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  Induction,  ii.  39,  "  Or  wilt  thou 
sleep?  we  '11  have  thee  to  a  couch  ". 

31.  of,  as  to,  about. 

34.  Titus  Lartius.     Cf.  ii.  1.  146  (stage-direction),  note. 

36.  gratify,  requite.     Cf.  Glossary. 

40.  well-found,  '  gratifying ',  *  found  to  be  well  \  Mr.  Beeching 
quotes  the  French  trouve'  bon,  approved. 

45.  *  Let  us  rather  think  that  the  state  is  unable  to  requite  his 
deeds  than  we  unwilling  to  strain  its  powers  to  do  so  to  the  utmost.' 

51.  treaty,  in  the  general  sense  of  'affair',  ' that  which  is  treated 
about \ 

56.  The  tribunes  are  to  Menenius  as  a  red  rag  to  a  bull.  He  is 
always  delighted  to  spar  with  them. 

62.  Here,  as  in  i.  9.  13,  Coriolanus'  unwillingness  to  hear  himself 
praised  is  not  humility,  but  a  subtler  pride.     Cf.  Mr.  Toole's  catch- 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  117 

word  in   Walker,  London:  "Oh!  it's  nothing,  nothing!  I've  only 
done  my  dooty ! 

67.  disbenched,  made  you  leave  your  bench. 

68,  69.  Coriolanus  replies  insolently  to  Brutus'  well-meant,  but 
perhaps  tactless  courtesy,  ' '  Flattery  from  you  would  hurt  me,  but 
not  rudeness  ". 

73.  Masters  o*  th'  people.  Menenius  ironically  repeats  the 
address  of  the  senators  to  the  tribunes  in  line  47. 

74.  multiplying  spawn.  The  lower  classes  of  Romans  were 
known  as  proletarii,  good  only  to  breed  children  {proles). 

78.  In  this  speech  Coriolanus'  greatness  is  brought  prominently  to 
the  front  for  the  last  time.  It  comes  with  some  irony  just  before  his 
fell. 

CI  North,  §  3. 

83.  singly,  by  any  single  man. 

84.  Coriolanus'  deeds  against  Tarquin  are  described  in  North, 
§  5 ;  Shakespeare  adds  the  personal  combat  with  the  tyrant. 

made  a  head,  raised  a  power:  cf.  hi.  1.  1. 

86.  Whom  with  all  praise  I  point  at :  a  reminiscence  of  the 
common  phrase  in  Latin  speeches,  quern  honoris  causa  nomino. 

87.  Amazonian  chin,  i.e.  beardless  chin.  Ff.  3,  4  have  chin; 
Ff.  I,  2  shin. 

92.  '  When  he  was  still  a  boy,  young  enough  in  looks  to  play  the 
part  of  a  weak  woman.'  Women's  parts  were  of  course  played  by 
boys  on  the  Elizabethan  stage. 

94.  the  oak.     Cf.  i.  3.  12,  note. 

95.  His  pupil  age  Man-entered  thus.  Having  thus  passed 
from  boyhood  into  manhood. 

97.  lurch'd  all  swords  o'  th'  garland.  Cf.  Ben  Jonson's 
Epicoene  or  The  Silent  Woman  (1609),  v.  I:  "Well,  Dauphin e, 
you  have  lurched  your  friends  of  the  better  half  of  the  garland,  by 
concealing  this  part  of  the  plot ".  For  the  supposed  bearing  of  this 
parallel  on  the  date  of  Coriolanus,  see  Introduction,  p.  viii. 

lurch'd,  robbed:  cf.  Glossary. 

the  garland,  the  prize:  cf.  i.  9.  59. 

this  last,  this  last  performance  of  his. 

99.  speak  him  home.  Cf.  ii.  1.  192,  note.  '  Home'  is  used  as 
an  adverb  =' to  the  end',  'thoroughly',  as  in  the  phrase  'Strike 
home '. 

101.  weeds.  So  F  I;  the  other  Ff.  have  waves-,  but  the  metaphor 
of  weeds  yielding  before  the  stem  of  a  boat  is  at  once  less  hackneyed 
and  more  vivid. 


u8  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

104.  Where  it  did  mark,  it  took,  i.e.  took  effect,  stamped 
death;  Coriolanus  slew,  and  did  not  merely  wound. 

105-110.  These  terse  and  vigorous  metaphors  are  a  sublime  ex- 
pression of  the  consternation  caused  by  Coriolanus'  prowess  in  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy. 

107.  mortal;  so  it  appeared  to  those  who  saw  Coriolanus  enter. 

107,  108.    'painted  with  blood,  a  sign  of  inevitable  destiny'. 

109.  struck... like  a  planet.  The  idea  of  'destiny'  is  continued. 
'  Strike'  is  used  of  the  baneful  influences  of  adverse  planets  on  human 
life.  Cf.  'moonstruck',  and  Hamlet,  i.  1.  162,  "The  nights  are 
wholesome;  then  no  planets  strike".  Cf.  the  speech  of  Timon  to 
Alcibiades  {Timon  of  Athens,  iv.  3.  108) — 

"  Be  as  a  planetary  plague,  when  Jove 
Will  o'er  some  high-viced  city  hang  his  poison 
In  the  sick  air:  let  not  thy  sword  skip  one  ". 

But  I  am  not  sure  that  Shakespeare  has  not  also  before  him  the 
visual  image  of  a  building  physically  struck,  not  by  a  planet,  but  by 
a  thunderbolt. 

119.  with  measure,  to  the  full. 

123.  misery,  not,  as  Warburton  suggested,  'miserliness',  but 
'  wretchedness '.  We  may  paraphrase  '  what  misery  itself  would 
give '  by  '  the  widow's  mite  '. 

125.  to  spend  the  time  to  end  it;  i.e.  'he  spends  the  time 
thus  merely  for  the  sake  of  thus  spending  it,  and  not  with  any 
ulterior  object '.  Johnson's  unnecessary  emendation  spend  the  time 
to  spend  it  gives  the  same  sense. 

129.  still,  i.e.  always.  Coriolanus'  point  is,  '  I  will  serve  them 
in  this  way  as  in  any  other  \ 

Coriolanus  is  willing  to  regard  himself  as  serving  the  senate,  which 
represents  his  own  order,  but  the  people — that  is  another  matter. 
On  the  Roman  custom  of  canvassing,  see  Appendix  C. 

135.  pass,  omit. 

The  tribunes  have  been  on  the  watch  to  get  Coriolanus  into  a  false 
position,  and  at  once  press  their  opportunity. 

137.  Menenius,  with  his  hail-fellow-well-met  temper,  does  not 
quite  understand  Coriolanus'  shrinking  from  personal  contact  with, 
and  still  more  from  the  appearance  of  asking  a  favour  of,  the  un- 
washed multitude. 

146.  Do  not  stand  upon 't.  *  Do  not  be  so  obstinate,  so  un- 
compromising.' 

This  scene  follows  closely  upon  scene  1.  In  fact,  a  single  day 
seems  to  comprise  the  larger  part  of  the  play,  from  act  i.  scene  1  to 
act  iv.  scene  2  inclusive. 


Scene  3]  NOTES.  119 

Scene  3. 

This  scene  is  a  critical  one.  The  stuff  Coriolanus  is  made  of  is 
put  to  the  test  with  fatal  results.  The  popularity  his  valour  has  won 
him  rapidly  disappears  before  his  insolent  and  unsympathetic  bear- 
ing, and  his  utter  failure  to  forget  for  one  moment  himself  and  his 
own  personal  dignity.  He  throws  away  all  his  chances.  He  speaks 
to  the  people  with  mingled  irony  and  brusqueness,  which  even  they 
are  not  too  obtuse  to  feel  and  to  resent.  Consequently  they  fall  in 
readily  enough  with  the  intrigues  of  the  ever  -  watchful  tribunes. 
Coriolanus  has  now  committed  the  first  of  a  series  of  blunders  which 
finally  culminate  in  his  banishment. 

The  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch  (§§  39,  40),  but  Plutarch 
says  nothing  of  Marcius'  unwillingness  to  canvass,  nor  of  his  behaviour 
in  the  market-place,  nor  of  the  part  played  by  the  tribunes.  Lines 
228-236  should  be  compared  with  North,  §  I,  and  there  is  a  reference 
in  line  14  to  the  events  recorded  in  North,  §§  44-48. 

1-35.  The  discourse  of  the  citizens  shows  the  mingled  feelings 
they  have  towards  Coriolanus.  A  very  little  graciousness  or  un- 
graciousness on  his  part  will  turn  the  scale. 

1.  Once,  '  once  for  all '.  The  citizen  is  summing  up  a  previous 
discussion. 

14.  about  the  corn.  The  citizen  refers  to  the  question  of  the 
free  distribution  of  corn  on  which,  according  to  Plutarch  {North, 
§§  44-48),  Coriolanus  took  a  markedly  anti-popular  side.  Shake- 
speare does  not  describe  this  event,  and  it  is  not  quite  clear  when 
he  supposes  it  to  have  taken  place;  cf.  iii.  I.  43,  note.  In  Plutarch 
it  follows  the  rejection  for  the  consulship. 

15.  the  many-headed  multitude;  cf.  "  Hydra  here"  (iii.  1.  93) 
and  "the  beast  with  many  heads"  (iv.  i.  1).  The  allusion  is  to  the 
Hydra  slain  by  Hercules,  and  its  nine  heads,  each  of  which  grew 
again  as  fast  as  it  was  cut  off. 

17.  Some  abram.  So  F1-3;  F4  and  many  modern  editors 
read  some  auburn.  But  'abram'  was  a  common  form  of  the  word; 
cf.  Glossary. 

31.  you  may,  you  may,  i.e.,  'Go  on  with  your  chaff;  I  don't 
mind';  cf.  Troilus  and  Cresida,  iii.  1.  H 8 — 
"  Helen.  Ay,  ay,  prithee  now.     By  my  troth,  sweet  lord,  thou  hast 

a  fine  forehead. 
Pandarus.  Ay,  you  may,  you  may." 

36.  the  gown  of  humility.     Cf.  ii.  I.  218,  note. 

38.  by  ones,  by  twos,  and  by  threes.  Probably  the  citizen 
has  had  instructions  from  the  tribunes  who  know  that  the  more 
often  Coriolanus  must  entreat  a  vote,  the  more  irritated  he  would  be. 

45.  Coriolanus,  sneering  at  the  people  while  he  begs  their  votes, 
is  not  without  his  parallels  in  modern  politics.     Wrong-headed  and 


120  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II. 

wrong-hearted  as  he  is,  his  view  of  the  matter  is  perhaps  more 
dignified  and  worthy  of  respect  than  that  of  Menenius  and  the  rest. 

52.  think  upon  you,  i.e.  give  you  a  present  of  their  votes,  as 
one  '  remembers '  a  porter. 

53,  54.  the  virtues  Which  our  divines  lose  by  'em.  The 
virtues  are  lost,  because  they  are  preached  to  the  people,  and  the 
people  forget  to  practise  them. 

56.  wholesome,  reasonable.  Cf.  Hamlet,  iii.  2.  328:  "If  it 
shall  please  you  to  make  me  a  wholesome  answer".  Coriolanus 
puns  upon  the  word  in  his  next  speech. 

57.  The  stage-direction  of  the  Ff.  is  Enter  three  of  the  Citizens. 
The  Cambridge  editors  split  up  this  entry,  so  as  to  suit  '  a  brace '. 
But  in  any  case  the  "two  worthy  voices"  of  line  75  does  not 
agree  with  the  stage-directions. 

The  Citizen  insists  on  all  the  formalities  being  gone  through.  One 
feels  that  this  particular  citizen  must  be  quite  especially  offensive  in 
Coriolanus'  eyes. 

63.  Ay,  not  mine  own  desire.  So  Ff.  3,  4;  F  1  has  Ay,  btit; 
F2,  Ay,  no.    Mr.  A.  P.  Paton  upholds  but  in  the  sense  of  'without'. 

Coriolanus  pointedly  addresses  the  Citizen,  who  certainly  has  put 
the  thing  rather  commercially,  as  he  would  a  tradesman  in  his  /shop. 

72.  in  private.  Coriolanus  cannot  bring  himself  to  do  anything 
so  vulgar  as  to  show  his  wounds  in  public.  He  would  not  be  thought 
to  think  them  of  any  importance. 

75.  a  match,  a  bargain. 

76.  Coriolanus  turns  round  upon  his  heel  and  walks  off,  to  wait  for 
another  batch  of  citizens,  so  soon  as  he  has  the  required  promise. 

7g.  stand  with,  suit,  agree  with. 

80.  customary.  Coriolanus  lays  stress  on  this  word.  He  would 
not  have  them  think  that  his  humility  is  other  than  a  conventional 
one. 

88.  my  sworn  brother.  One  of  the  many  allusions  in  Shake- 
speare to  the  fratres  jurati,  or  brothers  in  arms  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Thus  Robert  de  Oily  and  Roger  de  Ivry  are  recorded  as 
fratres  jurati  in  the  expedition  of  the  Conqueror  to  England,  and 
shared  the  honours  bestowed  on  either  of  them.  Cf.  Much  Ado, 
i.  1.  73:  "He  hath  every  month  a  new  sworn  brother";  and  Richard 
II.,  v.  I.  20 — 

"  I  am  sworn  brother,  sweet, 
To  grim  Necessity,  and  he  and  I 
Will  keep  a  league  till  death  ". 

90.  condition,  disposition.     Cf.  Glossary. 

92.  be  off  to  them,  have  my  hat  off  to  them. 

94.  bountiful.  Adjectives  are  often  used  adverbially;  cf.  Abbott)  §  1. 


Scene  3.]  NOTES.  121 

98.  The  citizens  would  like  to  indulge  their  curiosity  with  a  sight 
of  the  wounds,  and  hint  as  much. 

104.  Heroic  verse  is  not  common  in  the  play,  but  here  it  is  used 
to  express  the  excited  overstrained  condition  of  Coriolanus.  The 
citizens  have  got  upon  his  nerves,  and  he  relieves  himself  in  a 
moment's  interval  with  this  angry  outburst.  Cf.  Essay  on  Metre, 
§17. 

105.  deserve,  to  be  pronounced  desarve,  so  as  to  rhyme  with 
starve  (Ff.  1-3  spell  sterve).  Cf.  the  old  pronunciation  of  'your 
sarvant,  sir';  and  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  1.  55 — 

"Princess.  Boyet,  you  can  carve; 

Break  up  this  capon. 
Boyet.  I  am  bound  to  serve  ". 

106.  woolvish  toge.  So  Malone,  for  the  woolvish  tongue  of  F  1, 
woolvish  gown  of  Ff.  2-4.  In  Othello,  i.  I.  25,  the  F  I  has  the  tongued 
consuls,  where  the  Q  I  has  the  toged  consuls.  The  exact  meaning  of 
1  woolvish '  here  is  doubtful :  it  may  be  merely  '  rough  ',  '  shaggy ', 
or  perhaps  '  deceitful ',  Coriolanus  feeling  himself  a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing.  Various  commentators  have  suggested  woollen,  wool-less 
(i.e.  *  threadbare '),  foolish,  &c. 

108.  needless  vouches.  Coriolanus  has  not  realized  yet  that 
the  voice  of  the  people  can  have  any  practical  effect  on  the  choice  of 
a  consul. 

117.  Coriolanus  is  still  excited,  and  turns  to  his  task  again  in  a 
spirit  of  burlesque,  which  fortunately  escapes  the  citizens. 

120.  and  heard  of.     The  bathos  is,  of  course,  intentional. 

129.  your  limitation,  your  appointed  time. 

130.  remains.    For  the  omission  of  the  subject  cf.  Abbott,  §  404. 
137.  Coriolanus'  first  idea  is  to  stop  making  himself  ridiculous. 
143.  'Tis  warm  at's  heart,  'He's  pleased  at  it,  though  he 

takes  care  not  to  show  it '. 

146.  The  tribunes  are  a  little  disappointed.  Their  careful  instruc- 
tions that  Marcius  should  not  be  elected  (cf.  lines  37-42,  182)  have 
been  disregarded ;  but  when  they  meet  the  people  they  find  that  all 
is  not  lost  yet,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Third  Citizen,  they  skilfully 
twist  them  to  their  own  purposes. 

156.  Sicinius  affects  to  disbelieve  that  Coriolanus  could  have 
omitted  such  an  important  mark  of  respect  towards  the  people. 

165.   '  Why  did  you  either  fail  to  notice  it.' 

171.  charters,  rights,  position,  such  as  charters  protect. 

172.  arriving.  The  preposition  is  often  omitted  after  a  verb  of 
motion:  cf.  Abbott,  §  198. 

175.  Scan:  Fast  foe'  |  to  th'  pie'  |  beii';  and  cf.  Essay  on  Metre, 
§  10  (i). 


122  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  II.  Sc.  3. 

179.  would,  i.e.  should,  ought  to. 

182.  touch'd,  i.e.  tested,  as  by  a  touchstone. 

196.    '  Against  what  your  reason  determined.' 

200.  This  is  the  point  to  which  the  tribunes  wished  to  bring  the 
people,  without  themselves  appearing  to  suggest  it.  The  '  confir- 
mation '  is  apparently  the  formal  voting  by  tribes  which  followed  the 
open  acceptance  of  the  candidate  in  the  market-place,  just  as  in  a 
modern  election  the  voting  by  ballot  follows  the  show  of  hands  at 
the  nomination. 

210.  enforce,  lay  stress  on. 

212.  the  humble  weed,  the  weed  or  garment  which  is  a  token 
of  humility:  cf.  ii.  I.  218,  note. 

214,  215.   '  Prevented  you  from  noticing  his  present  behaviour.' 

216.  ungravely,  without  dignity. 

218.  This  is  ingenious  of  the  tribune,  to  win  his  point  and  escape 
the  obloquy  of  it. 

219.  The  phraseology  is  rather  compressed :  'Allowing  no  impedi- 
ment to  interfere  and  prevent  you  from  casting '. 

222.  affections,  desires.     Cf.  i.  1.  94,  169. 

227-236.  This  sketch  of  Coriolanus'  early  years  is  taken  from 
North's  Plutarch,  §  I. 

227.  youngly,  an  unusual  adverb  from  'young'.  Cf.  Sonnet  xi.  3: 
"And  that  fresh  blood  which  youngly  thou  bestowest". 

234>  235-  The  Ff.  read : 

hither, 
And  nobly  nam'd,  so  twice  being  Censor 
Was  his  great  Ancestor. 

Clearly  something  has  been  omitted.     The  earlier  editors  adopted 

Pope's — 

hither. 
And  Censorinus,  darling  of  the  people 
(And  nobly  nam'd  so  twice  being  Censor) 
Was  his  great  ancestor. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Spence,  in  Notes  and  Queries  for  9th  June,  1894,  suggests : 

And — nobly  named  so,  twice  being  censor — Censor 
Was  his  great  ancestor, 

which  is  ingenious. 

I  think  we  should  keep  as  near  the  words  of  the  parallel  passage  in 
North  as  possible,  and  therefore  I  have  preferred  the  reading  given 
in  the  text,  which  is  that  suggested  both  by  Delius  and  by  Mr.  G.  H. 
Wyndham  in  his  Introduction  to  North's  Plutarch  in  the   Tudor 


Act  III.  Scene  i.]  NOTES.  123 

Translations  series,  to  the  alternative  version  of  the  Cambridge 

editors,  which  is  as  follows — 

hither; 
And  Censorinus  nobly  named  so, 
Twice  being  by  the  people  chosen  censor. 
Was  his  great  ancestor. 

On  the  Marcian  family,  see  Appendix  C. 
240.   scaling,  weighing,  considering. 

243.  putting  on,  instigation. 

244.  drawn  your  number.  Some  process  connected  with  the 
voting  seems  to  be  intended,  though  exactly  what  I  cannot  say. 

247.  '  We  had  better  take  the  chance  of  the  present  disaffection, 
thap  wait  for  a  greater  one  of  which  the  result  shall  be  certain.' 

250.  answer,  play  up  to. 

Sufficient  interval  is  left  between  scenes  2  and  3,  which  fall  on  the 
same  day,  to  allow  Coriolanus  to  put  on  the  robe  of  humility,  and 
the  tribunes  to  give  those  instructions  to  the  people  in  the  market- 
place which  they  so  imperfectly  carry  out. 


Act  III.— Scene  I. 

Act  i.  showed  us  Coriolanus  in  his  nobility,  act  ii.  in  his  inherent 
and  fatal  weakness.  In  the  present  act  that  weakness  leads  him  on 
inevitably  to  his  ruin.  At  the  beginning  of  it  he  is  the  champion  of 
Rome,  and,  as  he  and  the  patricians  think,  her  chosen  consul ;  at  the 
end  he  is  a  disgraced  exile.  His  better  and  his  worse  qualities  have 
combined  to  bring  about  this  result.  If  he  had  had  that  sympathy 
with  the  people  which  alone  can  make  a  true  leader,  or  if  he  had 
been  willing,  like  the  rest  of  the  senators,  to  affect  a  sympathy  which 
he  did  not  feel,  the  crisis  of  his  fate  would  have  been  averted.  As 
it  is,  he  falls,  and  we  can  scarcely  pity  him.  The  action  of  the  act 
is  spread  over  three  scenes,  dealing  respectively  with  Conolangg* 
first  defeat  by  the  tribunes,  his  partial  recovery~of  his  "position,  and 
his  final  banlsEmenE  TJnsjirrangement  is  dramatically  effective:  it 
holds  the  issuein-suspjease^ahd  thus  retains  6Tnc~mTerestV 

Scene  1  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch  (§§  40-53),  but  Shake- 
speare has  somewhat  altered  the  order  of  events  as  it  is  given  by 
Plutarch.  This  is  briefly  as  follows: — Coriolanus  is  rejected  as 
consul.  Shortly  afterwards  much  corn  is  brought  to  Rome,  and  it 
is  proposed  to  distribute  it  amongst  the  people.  This  Coriolanus 
vehemently  opposes,  and  wins  his  point.  The  tribunes  stir  up  the 
people,  and  proceed  to  arrest  him.  The  patricians  gather  round 
him  and  drive  them  back.      A  tumult  appears  probable,  and  the 


I24  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

consuls  agree  with  the  tribunes  that  Coriolanus  shall  stand  his  trial. 
Shakespeare  has  compressed  all  this  into  the  same  day  as  that  of  the 
election  to  the  consulship.  He  omits  the  episode  of  the  corn,  or 
rather  he  speaks  of  it  here,  and  in  ii.  3,  as  having  occurred  at  some 
time,  not  precisely  defined,  before  the  election.  Coriolanus,  in  his 
wrath  at  being  rejected,  recalls  and  repeats  the  language  which  he 
had  used  on  that  occasion,  and  thus  gives  ground  for  an  accusation 
against  him  of  treason. 

The  condemnation  of  Coriolanus  by  the  tribunes  to  be  flung  from 
the  Tarpeian  rock  (iii.  I.  209-214)  belongs  in  Plutarch  {North,  §  55) 
to  a  later  period  in  the  proceedings.     Cf.  notes  on  act  iii.  sc.  3. 

This  passage  is  to  remind  us  that  Aufidius  and  the  Volsces  are  still 
in  existence,  dangerous  enemies  to  Rome,  and  destined  to  play  an 
important  part  in  the  sequel. 

1.  made  new  head,  raised  new  forces.     Cf.  ii.  2.  84. 

16.  to  hopeless  restitution,  beyond  all  hope  of  restitution. 

This  is  ironical.  Coriolanus  does  not  know  how  soon  he  will  go 
to  Antium,  nor  what  his  cause  to  seek  Aufidius  will  be. 

24.  noble  sufferance,  sufferance  by  men  who  are  noble. 

34.  now,  at  one  moment. 

36.  Coriolanus'  annoyance  is  increased  when  he  recognizes  the 
hand  of  the  tribunes,  whom  he  personally  dislikes  and  despises. 

48.  The  Ff.  give  this  line  to  Cominius.  I  have  adopted  Theo- 
bald's emendation  of  Cor.  for  Com.,  so  as  not  to  break  the  angry 
recriminatory  dialogue. 

49.  to  better  yours,  to  outwit  you  in  bitterness.  Brutus  throws 
off  the  mask  and  admits  his  hostility  to  Coriolanus.  Coriolanus 
makes  an  angry  reply,  '  If  I  am  expected  to  meet  this  sort  of  low 
intrigue,  let  me  be  a  vulgar  tribune  at  once,  and  not  a  consul '. 

52.  that,  i.e.  the  insolence  of  the  aristocrat. 

57.  him,  i.e.  Brutus. 

58.  abused,  deceived,  or  misled. 

set  on.  This  may  either  be  in  apposition  to  '  abused ',  in  the 
sense  of  Med  on',  or  an  imperative,  'On  to  the  market-place!' 
Cominius  wants  to  get  the  formalities  of  the  election  over  before 
there  is  time  for  a  row. 

61.  The  tribunes  have  been  quietly  provoking  Coriolanus,  with  the 
desired  result  that  he  loses  control  of  himself,  and  bursts  out  into  a 
violent  anti-democratic  harangue  full  of  everything  which  at  the 
moment  it  was  most  unwise  to  say.  The  patricians  in  vain  try  to 
check  him. 

65.  Many  phrases  in  this  and  the  following  speeches  of  Coriolanus 
are  taken  with  very  little  alteration  from  North's  Plutarch,  §§  45,  46. 

66.  mutable,  rank-scented  many.  The  fickleness  and  the 
strong  smell  of  the  people  are  equally  distasteful  to  the  aristocrat. 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  125 

With  'rank-scented'  cf.  i.  1.  52:  "They  say  poor  suitors  have  strong 
breaths". 

66.  many.  So  F  4;  Ff.  1-3  "have  meynie,  which  might  perhaps  be 
upheld  in  the  sense  of  '  retinue ',  as  in  Lear,  ii.  4.  35— 

"They  summoned  up  their  meiny,  straight  took  horse". 

67.  as  I  do  not  flatter,  as  I  really  am.  Coriolanus  cannot  for- 
get that  he  has  degraded  himself  by  canvassing. 

78.  measles,  in  a  stronger  than  the  modern  sense.  Cf.  Glossary. 

82.  of  their  infirmity,  a  reminiscence  of  Hebrews,  iv.  15:  "We 
have  not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities  ". 

83.  Menenius  tries  to  dissuade  the  tribunes  from  inflaming  the 
people  by  repeating  what  he  represents  as  only  hasty  words  on  the 
part  of  Coriolanus.  But  Coriolanus  declines  to  have  his  views  ex- 
plained away  like  this. 

89.  The  assumption  of  dignity  and  authority  by  the  tribunes  en- 
rages Coriolanus  still  further. 

Triton.     A  very  minor  deity  in  Neptune's  train,  but  doubt- 
less a  great  personage  among  the  small  fry. 

go.  from  the  canon.  Rowe  substituted  canon  for  the  cannon  of 
the  Ff.  Probably  Johnson's  explanation  of  '  contrary  to  the  canon ' 
is  the  right  one.  The  tribunes  have  gone  beyond  their  function  in 
uttering  a  ■  shall '  without  a  decree  of  the  people.  Others,  however, 
take  it  as  '  according  to  the  rule  ',  thinking  that  the  tribunes  had  the 
power  they  claimed.  But  iii.  3.  13  sqg.  seems  to  show  that  they 
had  not,  without  the  assent  of  the  tribes. 

91.  O  good.     So  Theobald  for  the  O  God!  of  the  Ff. 

93.  Hydra  here,  the  plebeians ;  the  Lernsean  hydra  was  a  monster 
slain  by  Hercules.  It  had  many  heads,  and  as  fast  as  one  was  struck 
off,  others  grew  to  take  its  place.  Coriolanus  has  already  (cf.  ii. 
3.  15)  called  the  people  "the  many-headed  multitude". 

95.  monster's.  So  Delius,  for  the  monsters  of  the  Ff.  Capell 
read  monster.    For  the  double  possessive,  cf.  Cymbeline,  ii.  3.  149 — 

"'Shrew  me 
If  I  would  use  it  for  a  revenue 
Of  any  king's  in  Europe  ". 

The  *  monster '  is  of  course  the  people,  the  Hydra,  whose  repre- 
sentative and  spokesman  ('  horn  and  noise ')  Sicinius  is. 

97.   '  Make  your  intentions  give  way  to  his  own  mean  ends.' 
97-101.   If  the  text  is  correct,  "vail  your  ignorance"  must  mean, 
1  let  your  ignorance,  which  gave  him  power,  bow  down  to  him  in 
submission':  cf.  Glossary,  s.v.  vail.     Collier's  emendation  of  impo- 
tence for  ignorance  does  not  help  the  sense,  and  Staunton's  signories 


126  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

is  rather  audacious.    Hanmer  ingeniously  suggested  that  two  clauses 
had  got  misplaced  between  lines  98  and  101,  and  proposed — 

' '  If  they  have  power ; 
Let  them  have  cushions  by  you 


.    If  you  are  not. 
Then  vail  {veil)  your  ignorance." 

103,  104.    '  The  predominant  flavour  most  resembles  theirs.'       • 
107.  Greece,  the  land  of  democracies.    The  comparison  was  per- 
haps suggested  by  the  fact  that  Plutarch  {North,  §  45)  speaks  of  the 
distribution  of  corn  as  a  Greek  custom.     Cf.  line  115. 

in.  take,  destroy,  as  in  iv.  4.  20.     Cf.  Glossary. 

113.  Coriolanus,  in  his  excitement,  goes  back  to  an  old  grievance. 
So  far  from  wishing  to  conciliate,  he  picks  up  the  challenge  thrown 
down  by  Brutus  in  lii.  1.  43.  According  to  Plutarch  {North,  §44) 
this  episode  of  the  distribution  of  corn  took  place  after  Coriolanus' 
rejection  as  consul.  Shakespeare  leaves  us  to  infer  that  it  took  place 
at  some  undefined  time  before  the  action  of  his  play  begins.  But 
he  works  into  the  present  scene  part  of  the  speech  against  the  distri- 
bution put  by  Plutarch  {North,  §  45)  in  Coriolanus'  mouth. 

117.  they,  the  '  whoever  gave  that  counsel'  of  line  113. 

120.  more  worthier.  So  F  1 ;  the  other  Ff.  have  worthy.  For 
the  double  comparative  cf.  Abbott,  §11. 

121.  our  recompense,  a  re-ward  from  us. 

127.  the  accusation,  of  wishing  to  let  the  people  famish,  and 
keep  their  own  storehouses  stored  with  grain.     Cf.  i.  1.  72. 

129.  all  cause  unborn,  without  any  cause. 

motive.  So  Heath  for  the  native  of  the  Ff.  The  Cambridge 
editors  and  others  keep  the  Ff.  reading  and  explain  it  as  '  native 
cause'  or  'origin'. 

130.  frank  donation.  Shakespeare  speaks  as  if  the  corn  was 
distributed;  according  to  Plutarch  {North,  §§  48,  51)  Coriolanus' 
counsel  prevailed,  and  it  was  not. 

131.  bisson  multitude.  This  is  Dyce's  improvement  on  Collier's 
emendation  of  beson-multitude.  The  Ff.  reading  is  bosome-multi- 
plied,  of  which  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  make  anything.  Mr. 
Beeching,  however,  defends  it,  as  parallel  to  Lear,  v.  3.  48:  "To 
pluck  the  common  bosom  on  his  side".  For  'bisson'  cf.  ii.  I.  57, 
and  Glossary. 

132.  deeds,  such  as  Sicinius'  bluster  before  the  senate  (line  86) 
in  the  hope  to  make  them  '  fear  '  again. 

134.  poll.     So  Rowe  for  the  pole  of  the  Ff. 

137.  our  cares,  our  anxiety  for  the  well-being  of  the  people. 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  127 

The  Cambridge  editors  quote  an  anonymous  conjecture  caresses, 
apparently  designed  to  avoid  the  octosyllabic  line. 
142.  worship,  Le.  authority. 

142,  143.  A  sufficiently  characteristic  expression  of  Coriolanus' 
one-sided  and  unreasonable  point  of  view.  The  only  fault  he  can 
see  in  his  own  party  is  that  they  are  not  thorough -going  enough. 

143.  Where  one.     So  Rowe,  for  the  Whereon  of  the  Ff. 

145.  conclude,  come  to  a  decision. 

146.  it  resumes  the  subject — "  this  double  worship" — from  line  142. 
148.   so  barr'd,  so  thwarted  by  the  power  of  'general  ignorance'. 

150-155.  '  You  that  will  set  aside  your  fears  to  follow  the  truly 
wise  course ;  you  that  out  of  your  love  for  the  essential  parts  of  the 
constitution  will  face  an  attempted  revolution ;  you  that  will  nobly 
risk  your  lives  in  applying  the  only  possible  remedy,  dangerous 
though  it  be,  for  the  state  of  our  country,  I  call  upon  you  to  abolish 
the  tribunate.' 

154.  jump,  'apply  a  violent  stimulus  that  may  galvanize  it  back 
into  life'.  Schmidt,  however,  explains  'jump'  as  'risk',  as  in 
Macbeth,  i.  7.  7 :  "We  'Id  jump  the  life  to  come".  All  the  Ff. 
have  jump,  but  various  emendations  have  been  somewhat  unneces- 
sarily suggested,  such  as  vamp  (Pope),  purge  (Staunton),  imp  (Singer). 

157.  The  sweet,  the  pleasures  of  interfering. 

160,  161.  These  clauses  modify  'bereaves',  not  'should  become  't\ 

161,  162.  'Has.    For  the  contraction  cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  8  (v). 

165.  bald.  Wright  quotes  Cotgrave's  French  Dictionary. 
"Chauve  d'esprit.  Bauld-spirited :  that  hath  as  little  wit  in,  as  he 
hath  haire  on,  his  head  ". 

167.  in  a  rebellion.     Cf.  i.  1.  206. 
184-188.  The  Ff.  read— 

"  All.  Downe  with  him,  downe  with  him. 
2  Sen.  Weapons,  weapons,  weapons : 

They  all  bustle  about  Coriolanus. 
Tribunes,  Patricians,  Citizens :  what  ho : 
Sicinius,  Brutus,  Coriolanus,  Citizens. 

All.  Peace,  peace,  peace,  stay,  hold,  peace." 

The  Cambridge  editors,  whose  arrangement  and  stage-directions  I 
have  adopted  in  the  text,  say,  "Surely  the  words  [i.e.  line  186]  are 
intended  to  express  the  tumultuous  cries  of  the  partisans  on  both 
sides,  who  are  bustling  about  Coriolanus.  The  following  words 
'  Peace,  peace  .  .  .'  attributed  to  All  in  the  Folios,  are  spoken  by 
some  of  the  elder  senators  endeavouring  to  calm  the  tumult.  Cf. 
also  act  v.  sc.  6.  1 21-123." 

206.  distinctly,  not  in  undistinguishable  '  heaps  and  piles '. 
(M415)  K 


128  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

207.  This,  not  Cominius'  remonstrance,  but  Coriolanus'  attack 
on  the  people's  liberties.  The  tribunes  disregard  Cominius  and  the 
other  senators,  and  address  the  gathering  throng.  It  is  unneces- 
sary, with  Pope  and  others,  to  give  lines  204-207  to  Coriolanus,  who 
is  quite  beyond  reasoning  with  the  tribunes.  As  Keightley  points 
out,  he  "is  standing  apart,  in  proud  and  sullen  rage". 

212.  present,  immediate. 

213.  th'  rock  Tarpeian,  from  which  traitors  were  cast  down. 
Cf.  North,  §  55. 

230.  your.     So  Rowe  for  the  our  of  the  Ff. 

231,  232.  The  Ff.  give  this  speech  to  Cominius'.  Warburton,  I 
think  rightly,  transferred  it  to  Coriolanus.  In  all  the  rest  of  this 
dialogue  after  the  fight  Cominius  does  his  best  to  get  Coriolanus 
home. 

237-242.  F  1  makes  two  speeches  of  this,  giving  Coriolanus  line 
237  and  Menenius  the  rest.  Line  237  was  given  to  Cominius  by 
Ff.  2-4,  and  lines  238-242  divided  between  Coriolanus  and  Menenius, 
as  in  the  text,  by  Tyrwhitt. 

242.   '  To-day's  defeat  will  owe  us  a  future  victory.' 

251.  Menenius'  'old  wit'  has  been  matched  against  the  people 
and  their  tribunes  before,  in  act  i.  sc.  I  and  in  act  ii.  sc.  I,  without 
any  marked  success. 

255-260.  Only  half  the  truth  of  the  tragedy,  and  perhaps  the  only 
half  which  Menenius  can  understand. 

259.  does,  i.e.  he  does.  The  subject  is  omitted,  perhaps  after 
the  analogy  of  'has :  cf.  i.  3.  56. 

272.  their,  i.e.  '  the  tribunes' '. 

274.  cry  havoc,  give  the  signal  for  general  slaughter.  Cf.  Glos- 
sary, s.v.  havoc. 

279.  The  con'-  |  sul  Cor'-  |  iola'(nus).  |  He'  con(sul) ! 

287.  one  danger.  So  the  Ff. :  Clarke  explains,  "  To  eject  him 
hence  were  but  one  danger,  and  to  keep  him  here  another — our 
certain  death  ".  But  I  think  Theobald's  our  danger  gives  a  better 
antithesis.     The  Cambridge  editors  suggest  moe  danger. 

The  sequel  shows  that  the  tribunes  are  quite  right  in  their  first 
judgment  of  the  political  situation. 

291.  deserved,  i.e.  deserving.  For  this  loose  use  of  the  passive 
participle  see  Abbott,  §  374. 

303.  kam.     See  Glossary. 

305-307.  The  Ff.  give  this  speech  to  Menenius;  Warburton  trans- 
ferred it  to  Sicinius. 

312.  unscann'd,  unconsidered. 

313.  process,  i.e.  legal  process. 

323.  bring  him.     So  Pope  for  the  bring  him  in  peace  of  the  Ff.r 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  129 

where  in  peace  has  clearly  crept  in  in  error  from  the  next  line  but 
one. 

326.  We  distinguish  •  human '  and  *  humane ' :  Shakespeare  gener- 
ally spells  and  accents  htimane.     Cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  10. 

32g.  Menenius  has  to  pocket  his  disgust  at  the  proposal  that  he 
should  take  a  commission  from  the  tribunes. 

This  scene  is  practically  continuous  in  time  with  act  ii.  sc.  3. 

Scene  2. 

Coriolanus'  submission  to  his  mother  in  this  scene  shows  us  her 
influence  over  him,  and  prepares  us  for  the  result  of  the  more 
momentous  conflict  between  them  in  act  v.  scene  3. 

This  scene  is  not  based  directly  on  Plutarch,  who  does  not  suggest 
'any  unwillingness  on  Coriolanus'  part  to  defend  himself.  Such  un- 
willingness, however,  is  dramatically  consistent  with  Shakespeare's 
conception  of  the  character. 

2.  on  the  wheel  or  at  wild  horses'  heels.  These  punish- 
ments, in  the  former  of  which  the  culprit  was  bound  on  a  wheel  and 
beaten  to  death  with  iron  rods,  belong  to  Shakespeare's  time  rather 
than  that  of  Coriolanus. 

5.  the  beam  of  sight,  the  distance  sight  can  reach,  as  if  a  beam 
of  light  proceeded  from  the  eye. 

9.  woollen  vassals,  not  clad  in  silk  brocade,  like  an  Elizabethan 
noble. 

18.  Let  go.     '  Let 's  have  done  with  it.' 

20.  lesser:  cf.  i.  4.  15,  note. 

24.  The  Ff.  give  this  line  to  Volumnia.  The  Globe  editors 
transfer  it  to  A  Patrician:  but  we  may  take  it  for  an  outburst  of 
Volumnia's  inmost  personal  feeling,  and  hardly  inconsistent  with  the 
policy  she  is  urging. 

29.  as  little  apt,  as  little  '  amenable '  or  *  pliable ',  fitting*  itself 
(aptare)  as  little  to  circumstances.  Several  unnecessary  emendations 
have  been  made  in  order  to  provide  apt  with  a  verb  to  govern. 
Collier  inserted  a  whole  line,  To  brook  control  without  the  use  of 
anger. 

32.  to  th'  herd.     So  Theobald  for  the  to  th'  heart  of  the  "Ff. 

39-41.  The  patricians,  other  than  Coriolanus,  are  divided  between 
admiration  of  his  uncompromising  attitude,  and  a  sense  of  the  practi- 
cal necessity  of  compromise. 

39.  absolute,  uncompromising,  unqualified.  Cf.  iii.  I.  90:  "His 
absolute  'shall'". 

42,  43.  The  sense  is  that  of  the  old  saw,  •  All 's  fair  in — war '. 

4g.  it,  i.e.  *  to  seem  the  same  you  are  not '. 


i3o  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

51.  force,  urge  forcibly. 

52.  lies  you  on.  The  phrase  is  formed  upon  the  analogy  of  '  it 
stands  me  upon ',  for  the  probable  explanation  of  which  cf.  Abbott, 
§204. 

55.  roted,  learnt  by  rote;  cf.  i.  1.  90,  note.  The  use  of  the  pre- 
position in  is  perhaps  due  to  a  vague  sense  of  analogy  with  \  rooted 
in'. 

57.   *  Not  allowed  as  true  in  your  secret  heart.' 

59.  take  in,  not  '  deceive ',  but  '  capture '.    Cf.  i.  2.  24. 

64.  I  am  in  this.  Some  explain,  'I  speak  for';  but  the  point 
is  rather,  '  I  am  at  stake  in  this;  so  are  your  wife  and  the  rest,  for 
we  are  in  danger  of  losing  you '. 

68.  inheritance,  obtaining.     Cf.  Glossary. 

69.  that  want,  the  want  of  their  loves. 

71.  not,  i.e.  not  only:  Menenius  hopes  that  Coriolanus  may  not 
only  escape  condemnation,  but  may  even  yet  become  consul.  Cf.  iii. 
3.  97,  note. 

74.  thus  far,  i.e.  'down  to  the  ground'.  This  speech  is  of  course 
helped  out  by  '  business '  on  the  stage. 

here  be  with  them.  I  think  Mr.  Beeching's  explanation  is 
correct,  '  get  at  them ',  or  '  get  over  them '  by  this  bit  of  flattery. 
He  quotes  Autolycus  in  Winter's  Tale,  iv.  3.  128:  "1  '11  be  with  you 
(i.e.  play  you  a  trick)  at  your  sheep-shearing  ". 

78-80.  The  reading  in  the  text  is  that  of  the  Ff.  It  is  not  very 
satisfactory,  as  the  only  possible  way  of  explaining  it  seems  to  be  to 
take  humble  as  an  imperative.  None  of  the  emendations  proposed 
are  quite  good  enough  to  adopt.  I  rather  incline  to  two,  Johnson's 
with  for  which,  and  Hanmer's  omission  of  or.     This  would  give, 

Go  to  them 

waving  thy  head, 

With  often,  thus,  correcting  thy  stout  heart, 

Now  humble  as  the  ripest  mulberry 

That  will  not  hold  the  handling,  say  to  them. 

The  '  thus '  means,  *  by  these  gestures  of  submission '.  In  any  case 
the  grammar  of  Volumnia's  speech  is  loose,  but  if  or  is  retained,  the 
sense  is  wrong.  She  is  not  suggesting  two  alternative  modes  of  pro- 
cedure, but  one  only.  Which  (written  wch)  and  with  are  easily 
confused  in  MS. 

79.  the  ripest  mulberry.  On  the  inferences  drawn  from  this 
passage  as  to  the  date  of  the  play,  cf.  Introduction,  p.  viii. 

85.  forsooth,  not  here,  as  usual,  ironical,  but  in  its  literal  sense 
as  an  asseveration,  '  in  very  truth '. 

102.  this  single  plot,  Marcius,  a  mould  or  plot  of  earth. 


Scene  3.]  NOTES.  131 

105,  106.  As  Coriolanus'  fate  becomes  too  much  for  him,  our 
sympathies  swing  to  his  side,  and  his  position,  at  least  when  he  is 
not  angry,  becomes  charged  with  pathos. 

113.  quired  with,  was  in  tune  with. 

114.  The  eunuch  is  put,  by  metonymy,  for  the  eunuch's  voice. 
Cf.  i.  6.  26— 

"  I  know  the  sound  of  Marcius'  drum 
From  any  meaner  man  ". 

A  eunuch  retains  an  unbroken  boyish  voice  through  life. 

115.  lulls.     So  Rowe  for  the  lull  of  the  Ff. 

116.  tent  in,  pitch  their  tents  in.     Cf.  i.  I.  90,  note. 

119.  who,  either  for  'which',  as  in  i.  1.  255,  or  with  reference 
to  an  antecedent  implied  in  '  my '. 

123.  inherent,  in  the  literal  sense  of  ■  that  may  stick  to  it '. 

125.  Than  thou  of  them,  than  for  thee  to  beg  of  them. 

126.  Volumnia  gives  up  her  cause,  and  resigns  herself  to  the 
sympathy  with  Coriolanus'  pride,  which  has  throughout  been  com- 
peting with  her  alarm  at  his  obstinacy. 

136.  A  touch  of  irony.     '  I  have  changed  my  nature.     I  am  now 
a  professional  flatterer.' 
140.  Cf.  iii.  3.  63. 
This  scene  is  continuous  with  act  iii.  scene  1. 

Scene  3. 

The  scene  is  critical  for  Coriolanus.  His  fate  depends  on  whether 
passion  or  self-control  proves  the  stronger  in  him.  If  his  punishment 
had  been  decreed  without  respite  in  scene  I,  the  dramatic  effect 
would  have  been  weakened;  his  ruin  would  have  come  on  too  sud- 
denly for  us  to  feel  the  full  tragedy  of  it.  The  chance  now  given 
him  brings  in  an  element  of  suspense  and  expectation.  But  we 
know  that  it  will  be  useless.  He  is  not  a  fine  enough  man  to  meet 
the  people  with  a  real  humility;  too  fine  to  persevere  in  his  affected 
one.  The  tribunes  know  just  the  right  way  to  move  him  as  they 
wish.  They  have  quite  new  accusations,  and  this  time  false  ones, 
to  spring  upon  him  when  he  is  unprepared. 

The  corresponding  passage  in  Plutarch  is  to  be  found  in  North, 
§§  61-68.  Plutarch,  however,  describes  in  §§  54-58  a  previous 
appearance  of  Coriolanus  before  the  people.  For  the  sake  of  drama- 
tic simplicity  and  variety,  Shakespeare  has  not  made  a  separate 
scene  of  this.  Coriolanus'  condemnation  by  the  tribunes  to  the 
Tarpeian  rock  (§§  55,  56)  he  has  transferred  to  act  iii.  scene  I. 

In  Plutarch  the  charge  of  attempted  tyranny  is  the  one  which 
Coriolanus  expects  to  meet  (§51).     Shakespeare  makes  it  an  unex- 


132  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  III. 

pected  one   (iii.    3.  63).      In   Plutarch  the   embezzlement  of  the 
Antiate  spoil  is  the  unexpected  charge  (§§  64,  65). 

1-5.  Coriolanus  has  many  faults,  but  he  has  not  sought  to  make 
himself  a  despot,  and,  above  all,  he  has  never  shown  personal  greed. 
He  was  warned  that  new  accusations  were  preparing;  but  he  will 
not  be  ready  to  meet  calmly  anything  so  base  as  this. 

4.  the  Antiates.  This  refers  to  a  bit  of  Plutarch's  story  which 
Shakespeare  has  left  out.  The  forays  against  the  Antiates  came 
between  the  siege  of  Corioles  and  the  election  for  the  consulship. 
Coriolanus  took  great  spoil,  and  reserved  nothing  for  himself  {North, 
§35)- 

7.  with.  '  Accompanied '  generally  takes  '  with '  rather  than  '  by ' 
in  Shakespeare. 

10.  by  th'  poll,  by  the  head,  individually.  North  (§  63)  explains 
the  point  of  voting  by  tribes  to  be  that  the  votes  were  taken  by  the 
poll.  That  is  true  in  the  sense  that,  as  the  tribes  contained  an  equal 
number  of  voters,  each  man's  vote  counted  the  same.  The  old- 
fashioned  mode  of  voting  was  by  centuries,  and  a  century  containing 
a  few  rich  men  counted  for  as  much  as  one  containing  many  poor 
men.  But  the  voting  in  each  tribe  or  century,  to  determine  the 
vote  of  that  tribe  or  century,  was  always  by  the  poll.  Probably 
Shakespeare  has  not  quite  understood  the  point,  even  if  North  did. 
The  bit  about  the  poll  is  not  in  the  original  Greek  of  Plutarch. 

18.  th'  truth  o'  th'  cause,  the  justice  of  our  case. 

21.  present,  immediate. 

25.  Put  him  to  choler,  excite  him  into  a  passion. 

26,  27.  to  have  his  worth  Of  contradiction,  '  not  to  come  off 
worst  in  a  quarrel ',  '  to  give  as  good  as  he  gets '. 

28.  temperance,  self-control. 

29.  looks,  looks  likely. 

32-37.  The  first  line  and  a  half  of  Coriolanus'  speech  is  an  aside 
to  Menenius;  the  rest  is  pronounced  aloud  in  greeting  to  the  senators. 

33.  bear  the  knave,  bear  being  called  knave. 

36.  Throng.     So  Theobald  for  the  Through  of  the  Ff. 

42.  this  present,  i.e.  the  charge  which  he  has  come  to  answer, 
of  speaking  against  the  authority  of  the  tribunes  in  iii.  I.  140-16 1. 
The  tribunes  do  not  mean  that  this  shall  be  the  only  charge  now, 
and  therefore  they  evade  Coriolanus'  question. 

43.  determine,  be  determined  or  decided. 

45.  allow,  acknowledge.     Cf.  allowance  in  iii.  2.  57. 

51.  th'  holy  churchyard.  Note  the  anachronism;  and  cf. 
Mercutio  on  his  wound  in  Romeo  and  Juliet,  iii.  I.  99:  "  'Tis  not  so 
deep  as  a  well,  nor  so  wide  as  a  church-door  ". 


Scene  3.]  NOTES.  133 

51.  Scratches  with  briers.  Even  at  this  critical  moment  Corio- 
lanus  retains  his  old  dislike  to  having  his  wounds  made  much  of, 
although  the  effect  produced  by  the  mention  of  them  may  procure 
his  safety.     Cf.  i.  9.  28;  ii.  2.  143,  &c. 

55.  rougher,  i.e.  rougher  than  would  become  a  citizen, 
accents.     So  Theobald  for  the  actions  of  the  Ff. 

57.  Even  Menenius'  own  party  have  a  little  too  much  of  him 
sometimes. 

60.  the  very  hour,  the  very  same  hour. 

61.  Coriolanus  has  not  much  idea  of  standing  as  a  culprit  at  bar. 

64.  season'd  office.  This  may  be  explained  either,  with  John- 
son, as  'established  and  settled  by  time',  or,  with  Schmidt,  as 
'qualified,  tempered',  as  opposed  to  'power  tyrannical'.  I  prefer 
the  former.  It  is  true  that,  although  certain  popular  rights,  such  as 
a  say  in  the  choice  of  consul,  were  of  old  standing,  yet  the  tribunate 
was  quite  an  innovation  (cf.  i.  1.  206).  But  the  tribunes  themselves 
were  the  last  people  to  make  this  distinction. 

67.  Coriolanus  has  fallen  into  the  tribunes'  trap. 

69.  their  traitor,  a  traitor  to  them, 
injurious,  insulting.     Cf.  Glossary. 

70.  sat,  a  conditional  clause,  'if... deaths... sat*. 

71.  clutch'd,  passive,  '  were  there  clutched '. 

81.  capital,  this  may  merely  mean  '  utmost ',  or,  '  of  a  kind  re- 
quiring capital  punishment '. 

83.  Coriolanus  would  rather  be  insulted  by  the  tribunes  than 
praised  by  them. 

88.  the  steep  Tarpeian  death.     Cf.  iii.  1.  213,  note. 

89.  pent  to  linger,  being  pent  to  linger.  The  clause  is  clearly 
parallel  with  the  other  objects  of  '  pronounce ',  but  the  construction 
is  somewhat  loose. 

97.  not  in  the  presence,  not  merely  in  the  presence.  Cf.  iii.  2. 
71,  note. 

99.  doth.  So  F  1 ;  Ff.  2-4  have  d&.  For  the  singular  verb  with 
a  plural  subject  cf.  Merchant  of  Venice,  iii.  2.  33:  "Where  men 
enforced  doth  speak  anything  ",  and  Abbott,  §  334. 

104.  This  is  the  signal  to  the  people  agreed  on  in  lines  13-24. 
Of  course,  for  dramatic  purposes,  the  popular  vote  must  be  given  by 
acclamation  and  not  '  by  th  poll '. 

no.  for.     So  Theobald  for  the  from  of  the  Ff. 

114.  estimate,  reputation. 

116.  I  suppose  Cominius  wants  to  say  '  If  I  speak  that  which  may 
displease  you,  you  will  not  take  me  for  a  traitor '. 


134  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

120.  Coriolanus  sees  that  his  cause  is  hopeless;  he  can,  at  least, 
speak  his  mind  for  once. 

122.  carcasses,  on  the  scansion  of  this  word  cf.  Essay  on  Metre, 
§§  8  (i)  c,  (ii)/. 

124.  uncertainty,  insecurity. 

130.  Making  but  reservation  of  yourselves.  This  is  the 
reading  of  the  Ff.  Coriolanus  says  '  Banish  your  defenders,  and,  in 
your  ignorance  which  sees  no  danger  till  it  actually  feels  it,  keep 
only  yourselves,  your  own  worst  foes,  in  the  city'.  But  some 
editors  accept  CapelFs  making  not  reservation. 

135.  There  is  a  world  elsewhere.  It  will  be  the  object  of  the 
next  act  to  bring  out  the  full  meaning  of  this.  The  veiled  threats 
of  Coriolanus'  speech  show  that  he  has  already  half-formed  a  plan 
what  to  do. 

140.  deserved  vexation.  This  touch  shows  the  essential  mean- 
ness of  the  tribunes'  natures.  Insults  for  their  defeated  foe,  a  guard 
to  enhance  their  own  dignity. 

142.  The  Ff.  have  only  one  come  at  the  end  of  this  line.  This  is 
metrically  harsh,  and  I  have  adopted  Capell's  suggestion  of  a  second. 

This  scene  is  continuous  with  act  iii.  sc.  2. 


Act  IV.— Scene  I. 

Coriolanus'  career  in  Rome  has  ended  in  disaster ;  but  he  is  not  a 
man  to  put  up  with  disaster  contentedly.  Already  a  vague  scheme, 
soon  to  take  dreadful  shape,  has  suggested  itself  to  him,  whereby  he 
may  re-establish  himself  in  his  own  eyes,  and  once  more  play  a  brave 
part  in  new  scenes  and  under  new  conditions.  The  attempt  to  carry 
out  this  scheme  forms  the  subject  of  the  fourth  act ;  the  fifth  is  con- 
cerned with  its  ultimate  failure. 

In  the  first  three  scenes,  however,  Coriolanus'  designs  are  not 
directly  revealed.  For  a  time  our  sympathies  are  allowed  to  turn 
towards  him  in  his  misfortune.  His  departure  is  touched  with 
pathos,  though  beneath  there  is  the  tragic  undertone  of  an  austere 
and  terrible  intention. 

This  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch,  §§  69,  70.  Shakespeare 
adds  a  dramatic  touch  in  making  Coriolanus  depart  alone,  and  not 
•  with  three  or  four  of  his  friends  . 

I.  the  beast  with  many  heads.  Cf.  ii.  3.  15;  hi.  I.  93,  note. 
Properly  the  Hydra  was  a  serpent,  but  Shakespeare  gives  it  a  horn 
and  makes  it  butt. 

4.  extremities.  So  F  1 ;  the  other  Ff.  have  extremity.  For 
the  singular  verb  with  a  plural  subject  cf.  Abbott,  §§  333-337. 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  135 

5-7.  Cf.    Troiltis  and  Cressida,  i.  3.  33 — 

"  In  the  reproof  of  chance 
Lies  the  true  proof  of  men :  the  sea  being  smooth, 
How  many  shallow  bauble  boats  dare  sail 
Upon  her  patient  breast,  making  their  way 
With  those  of  nobler  bulk  ". 

7,  8.  The  construction  is  grammatically  irregular.  It  looks  as  if 
Shakespeare  originally  meant  'blows'  to  be  the  subject,  and  then 
introduced  a  new  subject  in  'being  wounded'.  But  the  sense  is 
clear  enough ;  it  is  governed  by  the  antithesis  of  '  common '  and 
'  gentle '.  '  Being  gentle  wounded '  = '  to  bear  your  wounds  as  a 
gentleman '.  It  is  not  necessary  to  alter  the  text,  and  the  emenda- 
tions proposed  are  unconvincing. 

13.  The  red  pestilence.  Elizabethan  physicians  recognized  red, 
yellow,  and  black  varieties  of  the  plague.  Cf.  Tempest,  i.  2.  364: 
"The  red  plague  rid  you",  and  Troilus  and  Cressida,  ii.  1.  20:  "A 
red  murrain  o'  thy  jade's  tricks  ".  Moyes  {Medicine  in  Shakespeare, 
p.  21)  explains  the  '  red '  plague  as  typhus  fever,  called  in  France  La 
pourpre,  from  the  red  eruption  accompanying  it. 

23.  My  sometime  general,  Cominius. 

28.  '  The  dangers  I  have  run  have  been  your  chief  interest.'  Cf. 
i.  3.  4-22. 

29.  not  lightly,  not  as  an  empty  boast,  but  my  deliberate  purpose. 

30.  his  fen,  the  impenetrable  marshes  that  render  him  invisible. 
Wright  quotes  Topsell,  History  of  Serpents,  "of  the  Indian  Dragons 
there  are  also  said  to  be  two  kinds,  one  of  them  fenny  and  living  in 
the  marshes... the  other  in  the  mountains". 

33.  first.  We  do  not  elsewhere  hear  of  a  brother  to  Coriolanus, 
but  the  word  may  only  mean  '  first-born ',  and  so  '  most  dear '.  In 
any  case  we  need  not  read  with  Heath  fierce  or  with  Keightley 
fairest. 

37.  O  the  gods.  Coriolanus  suddenly  realizes  how  the  revenge, 
which  is  already  beginning  to  shape  itself  in  his  mind,  must  inevi- 
tably bring  him  into  conflict  with  all  that  he  holds  most  dear. 

49.  of  noble  touch,  of  '  touched '  or  '  tested '  nobility. 
53.  There  is  unconscious  irony  in  Menenius'  speech.     He  has  no 
idea  of  what  is  rising  in  Coriolanus'  mind. 
This  scene  is  continuous  with  act  iii.  sc.  3. 

Scene  2. 

The  tribunes  show  but  poorly  before  Volumnia's  righteous  anger, 
/hey  have  won  their  cause,  yet  in  mean  ways  which  leave  them  but 
little  of  our  sympathy. 


136  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

The  various  reception  of  Coriolanus'  banishment  in  Rome  is  de- 
scribed in  North's  Plutarch,  §§  67,  68,  but  the  meeting  of  Volumnia 
and  the  tribunes  is  Shakespeare's. 

1.  we  '11  no  further.  A  verb  of  motion  is  often  omitted  after  an 
auxiliary.     Cf.  iv.  1.  57,  and  Abbott,  §  405. 

2.  Sicinius  has  fears  lest  the  nobility  may  revenge  themselves  on 
him  personally  for  his  share  in  the  affair. 

ig.  for  Rome.  Volumnia  still  believes  this:  she  shall  be  un- 
deceived hereafter. 

34.  Cats.  So  Ff.  Collier  proposed  Curs,  Staunton  Bats,  and 
Gould  Rats.  But  Bertram  says  of  the  treacherous  Parolles  in  AIVs 
Well,  iv.  3.  266:  "  I  could  endure  anything  before  but  a  cat,  and 
now  he 's  a  cat  to  me  ". 

This  scene  is  continuous  with  act  iv.  sc.  I. 

Scene  3. 

The  Volscians  are  recalled  to  our  minds,  in  preparation  for  scene 
4,  and  we  learn  that  they  are  ready  to  attack  Rome  at  the  moment 
of  her  weakness. 

This  scene  has  no  parallel  in  Plutarch. 

5.  against  'em,  against  the  Romans.  Nicanor  is  a  Roman  who 
serves  the  Volscians  as  a  spy. 

9.  is  well  approved.  So  Steevens  for  the  is  well  appeared  of 
the  Ff.  The  Ff.  reading  might  possibly  mean  '  is  made  apparent ', 
but  'appear'  is  not  elsewhere  used  in  this  transitive  sense.  The 
point  is:  my  imperfect  remembrance  of  your  'favour'  or  countenance 
is  '  approved ',  or  '  confirmed  by  my  remembrance  of  your  voice '. 

26.  them,  the  Volscians. 

31.  He  cannot  choose.  If  Aufidius  had  his  choice,  he  would 
prefer  to  have  Coriolanus  against  him. 

33.  home,  to  Antium,  presumably,  not  to  Rome. 

38.  in  the  entertainment,  in  receipt  of  pay  and  rations. 

An  interval  of  a  day  or  two  may  be  supposed  between  this  scene 
and  scene  2.  The  total  interval  between  scenes  2  and  4  must  be 
sufficient  for  Coriolanus  to  travel  from  Rome  to  Antium. 

Scene  4. 

This  brief  scene  serves  to  reveal  to  us  Coriolanus'  resolution.  He 
will  throw  off  the  past,  that  past  in  which  the  motive  of  his  action 
has  always  been  self  rather  than  country,  and  will  for  the  future  be 
to  Antium  what  he  has  been  to  Rome. 

The  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch,  §  73. 


Scene  5.]  NOTES.  137 

3.  'fore  my  wars.  The  grammatical  construction  is  with  '  groan 
and  drop '  rather  than  of  time  with  '  heirs \ 

10.  beseech  you.  The  pronoun  is  omitted,  as  in  the  commoner 
phrase  '  prithee '  = '  I  pray  thee '. 

12-22.  This  pause  for  a  generalization,  like  the  similar  reflections 
of  the  Greek  choruses,  serves  to  mark  a  critical  point  in  the  play. 

13.  seems  to  wear  one.  So  F  I ;  Ff.  2,  3  have  seen  wear  on,  F4 
seem  to  wear  one.  For  the  singular  verb  after  a  plural  subject  cf. 
Abbott,  §  333. 

14.  hours.  So  Ff.  Many  editors  adopt  Collier's  quite  needless 
emendation  of  house. 

16.  this  is  put  graphically  for  *an\ 

17.  of  a  doit,  'concerning',  'for  the  sake  of  a  doit.  In  i.  5.  6 
it  is  "worth  a  doit". 

20.  take,  destroy,  as  in  iii.  I.  III. 

22.  interjoin  their  issues,  unite  their  designs,  as  Coriolanus 
proposes  that  he  and  Aufidius  shall  do.  Rolfe  explains,  "let  their 
children  intermarry  ". 

23.  birth-place  hate  I.  So  Capell  for  the  birth-place  have  /of 
Fl.     The  later  Ff.  have  various  impossible  readings. 

24.  he,  Aufidius. 

Another  brief  interval  of  a  day  or  two  may  be  supposed  between 
this  scene  and  act  iv.  sc.  3.     See  note  ad  fin.  of  that  scene. 

Scene  5. 

This  scene,  the  principal  one  in  the  act,  presents  the  first  step  in 
Coriolanus'  fateful  design.  He  has  thrown  his  all  on  the  chance  of 
Aufidius  being  sufficiently  magnanimous  to  forget  the  past  and  to 
receive  the  suppliant  as  a  colleague.  For  the  present  he  is  success- 
ful. Aufidius  is  touched  by  the  confidence  put  in  him,  and  by  the 
dignified  bearing  of  his  old  enemy,  and  willingly  consents  to  a 
reconciliation.  In  a  burst  of  enthusiasm  he  even  offers  Coriolanus 
a  share  in  his  command. 

The  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch,  §§  73-76,  from  which 
much  of  Coriolanus'  speech  in  lines  63-99  is  taken  almost  word  for 
word.  Plutarch  does  not,  however,  give  Aufidius'  reply.  In 
Plutarch,  the  war  does  not  break  out  until  some  time  after  Corio- 
lanus' arrival  in  Antium.  His  appointment  as  general  is  mentioned 
in  §  86. 

4.  Coriolanus  is  still,  as  in  the  last  scene,  muffled  and  disguised. 
11.  companions,  often  used,  as  we  use  '  fellows',  in  a  deprecia- 
tory sense.     Cf.  v.  2.  57,  and  Glossary. 

22.  avoid,  get  out  of;  here  used  transitively,  in  line  29  intransi- 
tively. 


138  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

26.  poor.  The  servant  used  the  word  in  the  sense  of  '  inferior '. 
Coriolanus  grimly  accepts  it  in  its  literal  sense. 

35.  Coriolanus  will  not  declare  himself  to  mere  serving-men.  He 
puts  them  off  with  studied  ambiguities  and  allusions  beyond  their 
comprehension. 

the  canopy.     Cf.  Hamlet,  ii.  2.   311 :    "This  most  excellent 
canopy,  the  air,  look  you,  this  brave  o'erhanging  firmament ". 

42.  '  I  am  not  a  fellow-servant  of  such  as  you — daws.' 

43.  meddle  with  my  master,  bring  my  master's  name  into  the 
question. 

62.  Aufidius'  failure  to  recognize  Coriolanus  seems  improbable, 
but  perhaps  they  had  fought  with  visors  down. 

69.  memory,  in  the  sense  of  '  memorial ',  that  which  recalls  to 
memory. 

73.  our  dastard  nobles.  Throughout  Coriolanus  is  as  angry 
with  the  nobles,  who,  for  fear  of  danger  to  themselves,  permitted 
him  to  be  banished,  as  with  the  people  who  banished  him. 

74.  hath,  for  the  singular  verb  after  the  double  plural  cf.  Abbott^ 
§336. 

83.  a  heart  of  wreak,  a  heart  disposed  to  vengeance. 

84,  85.  maims  of  shame,  shameful  injuries.  Possibly,  however, 
Johnson  was  right  in  taking  '  maims '  in  the  special  sense  of  '  mutila- 
tions of  territory '. 

90.  under  fiends,  not  '  subordinate  fiends ',  but  '  fiends  of  hell 
below '. 

gg.  Aufidius  is  sensitive  to  the  courage  which  Coriolanus  has 
shown.  He  is  roused  to  a  generosity  somewhat  beyond  his  ordinary 
temper,  and  meets  him  with  an  equal  chivalry. 

101-104.  I  have  adopted  Schmidt's  arrangement  of  these  lines. 
In  the  Ff.  they  end  with  Jtipiter... things... more... twine.  In  any 
case,  one  line  must  be  octosyllabic,  and  the  best  dramatic  effect  is 
gained  by  letting  it  be  line  104.  The  place  of  the  missing  foot  is 
filled  up  by  a  long  pause,  during  which  the  old  rivals  gaze  into  each 
other's  eyes. 

105.  where  against  = '  against  which '.  '  Wherein '  similarly  — 
*  in  which '. 

107.  scarr'd.  So  Ff.  Rowe  read  scared,  in  defence  of  which 
Malone  quotes  Richard  TIL,  v.  3.  341:  "Amaze  the  welkin  with 
your  broken  staves  ".  Delius  supports  the  Ff.  reading  by  Winter's 
Tale,  iii.  3.  39:  "now  the  ship  boring  the  moon  with  her  main- 
mast ". 

108.  the  anvil  of  my  sword.     Cf.  Hamlet,  ii.  2.  511 — 

"  And  never  did  the  Cyclops'  hammers  fall 
On  Mars'  armour  forged  for  proof  eterne, 
With  less  remorse  than  Pyrrhus'  bleeding  sword 
Now  falls  on  Priam  ". 


Scene  5.]  NOTES.  139 

114.  dances,  possibly  'makes  to  dance',  in  which  case  'that  I 
see  thee  here '  is  the  subject.  If  '  my  heart '  is  the  subject,  '  that  I 
see  thee  here '  is  a  causal  clause  = '  in  that  I  see  thee  here '. 

116.  bestride  my  threshold.  The  Romans  held  it  unlucky  to 
stumble  on  a  threshold,  especially  for  a  bride.  Where  did  Shake- 
speare pick  up  this  bit  of  classical  lore?  It  is  not  in  Plutarch's  Life 
of  Coriolanus. 

119.  out,  'thoroughly',  'out  and  out':  cf.  Glossary. 

129.  o'er-beat.     So  Ff.     Many  editors  accept  Rowe's  o'erbear. 

134.  absolute,  'incomparable',  'perfect':  cf.  Glossary. 

141.  Various  emendations  have  been  proposed  to  avoid  the  octo- 
syllabic line.  But  Aufidius  ends  his  address  with  a  dramatic  pause : 
cf.  note  on  line  104.  The  rest  of  the  speech  is  spoken  as  the  two 
move  towards  the  inner  door  of  the  hall. 

146.  The  disconcerted  servants  try  to  recover  their  good  opinion 
of  their  own  discernment. 

147.  stroken.  The  spelling  of  Ff.  1,  2;  Ff.  3, 4  spell  strucken.  On 
the  participial  form  cf.  Abbott,  §  344. 

161.  he  you  wot  on.  So  Dyce  for  the  he,  you  wot  one.  I 
accept  the  emendation,  because  both  the  servants  seem  agreed  that 
Coriolanus  is  the  better  soldier. 

174.  lief.     So  F4,  spelling  lieve;  Ff.  1-3  have  live. 

182.  The  second  him  in  this  line= '  Aufidius  '. 

187.  boil'd.  So  Ff.  Most  editors  accept  Pope's  broiVd  on  the 
ground  that  a  carbonado  was  broiled,  not  boiled.  But  the  speaker 
does  not  necessarily  carry  on  the  whole  of  his  fellow's  metaphor. 

191.  but,  a  conjunction,  'unless'. 

193.  with's  hand,  with  Coriolanus'  hand.  Malone  explains, 
'  considers  the  touch  of  his  hand  as  holy ;  clasps  it  with  the  same 
reverence  as  a  lover  would  clasp  the  hand  of  his  mistress '.  Johnson, 
however,  thought  it  an  allusion  '  to  the  act  of  crossing  upon  any 
strange  event '.     If  so,  *  with  's '  must  = '  with  his  own '. 

turns  up  the  white  o'  the  eye,  as  an  expression  of  piety. 

205.  directitude.  So  Ff.  Malone  conjectured  discreditude  and 
Collier  dejectitude.  No  emendation  is  necessary.  The  servant  is 
making  a  bad  shot,  in  the  Costard -Bottom -Dogberry  manner  of  the 
earlier  plays,  at  some  word,  probably  '  discredit '. 

208.  in  blood,  'in  good  condition'.     Cf.  i.  1.  149,  note. 

215.  Cf.  the  sentiment  of  Tennyson's  Maud,  passim. 

218.  sprightly,  waking.  Pope's  emendation  for  the  sprightly- 
walking  of  the  Ff. 

audible,  'able  to  hear',  a  passive  adjective  used  in  an  active 
sense.     Cf.  Abbott,  §  3. 


140  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

218,  219.  full  of  vent,  'full  of  outlets  for  energy':  cf.  the  use  of 
'vent'  in  iii.  I.  258,  and  Glossary,  s.v.  Wright,  however,  thinks 
that  there  is  an  antithesis  between  '  full  of  vent '  and  '  mulled ', 
the  one  signifying  drowsy  spiced  wine,  the  other  wine  that  is 
'  effervescent,  working,  ready  to  burst  the  cask  \ 

221.  war's.     So  Rowe  for  the  wars  of  the  Ff. 

This  scene  follows  immediately  upon  act  iv.  sc.  4. 

Scene  6. 

Coriolanus'  action  brings  immediate  consternation  upon  Rome. 
The  effect  of  this  is  increased  by  the  brief  scene  between  the  tribunes 
and  Menenius  (lines  1-37)  before  the  news  comes.  To  the  audience, 
who  know,  the  exultation  of  the  tribunes  is  full  of  irony,  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  scene,  when  their  short-sightedness  has  been 
exposed,  Menenius,  naturally  enough,  does  not  spare  them.  They 
have  also  to  fear  the  anger  of  the  people,  whom  they  have  misled 
(lines  139-159).     Coriolanus'  revenge  is  beginning. 

The  consternation  in  Rome  at  the  march  of  Coriolanus  is  de- 
scribed in  North's  Plutarch,  §§  78,  87,  88,  93.  Plutarch  describes 
also  at  length  some  omens  which  befell  (§§  78-82),  and  a  device 
by  which  war  was  brought  about  (§§  84-86).  The  insertion  of  these 
would  only  have  delayed  the  action  of  the  drama. 

4-9.  There  is  much  truth  in  this,  as  a  criticism  of  Menenius  and 
the  nobles. 

7.  pestering,  '  crowding  to  discomfort '.     Cf.  Glossary. 

9.  friendly,  adjective  for  adverb :  cf.  Abbott,  §  1 ;  but  in  this 
case  the  adjective  was  itself  originally  an  adverb,  'friendly'  being  a 
mutilated  form  of  '  friend-like  \ 

32.  The  tribunes  still  believe,  or  profess  to  believe,  the  absurd 
charge  advanced  in  iii.  3.  63-66. 

38.  whom  we  have  put  in  prison.  This  touch,  showing  how 
incredible  the  truth  appeared,  is  perhaps  the  most  ironical  thing  in 
the  scene. 

42.  Even  to  Menenius  the  truth  does  not  at  once  occur. 

45.  stood,  '  stood  as  champion '. 

48.  Menenius  is  full  of  scorn  for  the  ignorance  of  these  tribunes, 
who  profess  statesmanship. 

50.  hath.  So  Ff.  1-3.  Many  editors  prefer  the  have  of  the  Ff. 
But  we  have  seen  many  examples  of  the  singular  verb  with  a  plural 
subject.     Cf.  Abbott,  §  334. 

65.  probable,  '  capable  of  proof. 

67,  68.  Grant  White  explains  these  lines,  "  Revenge  that  shall 
embrace  all,  from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest";  but  surely  it  is 
'  revenge,  as  infinite  in  its  extent  as  from  the  creation  to  to-day '. 


Scene  7.]  NOTES.  141 

70.  Good,  spoken  ironically. 

86.  whereon  you  stood,  *  about  which  you  were  so  obstinate  \ 

87.  into  an  auger's  bore,  'into  the  narrowest  conceivable 
limits  '.     Cf.  Macbeth,  ii.  3.  128 — 

"here,  where  our  fate, 
Hid  in  an  auger-hole,  may  rush  and  seize  us  ". 

88.  you've  made  fair  work.  The  terror  of  the  news  is 
lessened  for  Menenius  by  the  opportunity  it  gives  for  a  dialectical 
score  off  the  tribunes. 

94.  Cf.  the  picture  of  Coriolanus'  child  in  i.  3.  57-61. 

97.  the  voice  of  occupation,  'the  vote  of  those  engaged  in 
manual  occupations '. 

,98.  garlic-eaters.  Apparently  the  lower-class  Londoner  ate 
more  garlic  than  he  does  to-day.  Cf.  1  Henry  IV.,  iii.  I.  162; 
Measure  for  Measure,  iii.  2.  195;  and  Midsummer  Nigh? s  Dream, 
iv.  2.  43:  "  Most  dear  actors,  eat  no  onions  nor  garlic,  for  we  are  to 
utter  sweet  breath  ". 

102.  regions.     So  Ff.     Becket  proposed  legions. 

103.  who  resists.  Another  instance  of  singular  verb  with  plural 
subject.     Hanmer  proposed  resist. 

106.  something,  i.e.  '  more  than  you  had  the  sense  to  find '. 

112.  charged,  'would  charge'.  The  sense  is,  'They  would 
have  to  admit  themselves  in  the  same  position  as  his  enemies '. 

129.  And  is  Aufidius  with  him  ?  Menenius  can  hardly  realize 
that  such  a  league  is  possible. 

130.  cast  your. ..caps:  cf.  iii.  3.  137,  and  i.  1.  203,  note. 

139.  As  usual,  the  citizens  have  not  the  moral  courage  to  stand 
by  their  actions ;  they  shuffle. 

Sufficient  interval  is  required  between  this  scene  and  act  iv.  sc.  5 
to  allow  the  Volscian  army  to  start,  and  news  of  the  advance  to 
reach  Rome. 

Scene  7. 

This  scene  foreshadows  Coriolanus'  ultimate  failure  in  the  next 
act.  The  '  roots  of  ancient  envy '  are  not  so  easily  '  weeded  from 
the  heart'.  The  generous  impulse  with  which  Aufidius  at  first  wel- 
comed 'the  Roman'  dies  down.  He  awakes  to  jealousy  of  his 
rival's  popularity  in  the  camp;  he  finds  himself  playing  second 
fiddle.     Henceforth  he  is  in  secret  Coriolanus'  watchful  enemy. 

The  popularity  of  Coriolanus  and  the  jealousy  of  Aufidius  are  de- 
scribed in  North's  Plutarch,  §§  91,  98. 

6.  by  your  own.  Not  '  by  your  own  action ',  for  '  action '  in 
line   5  =  not   '  act '  but    '  campaign '.     It  may  be  '  by  your  own 


142  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  IV. 

soldiers '  or  '  by  your  own  prottg£\  the  Coriolanus  whom  you  yourself 
raised  to  his  position. 

8.  more  proudlier.  So  F  I ;  Ff.  2-4  have  more  proudly.  For 
the  double  comparative  cf.  hi.  I.  120,  note. 

13.  for  your  particular,  'for  your  private  reputation'  as  opposed 
to  the  general  success  of  the  campaign. 

15.  Had.     So  Malone  for  the  Have  of  the  Ff. 

19.  is.  The  subject  is  borrowed  from  '  it  seems ',  in  spite  of  the 
differently  constructed  clause  which  comes  between. 

22.  dragon-like.     Cf.  iv.  1.  30. 

23-25»  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  charges  Aufidius  now  means  to 
bring  against  Coriolanus.  He  has  not  yet  betrayed  Antium  by  spar- 
ing Rome.  In  act  v.  sc.  6  no  other  definite  accusation  is  made 
against  him,  though  certain  unspecified  'faults  before  the  last'  are 
mentioned  in  v.  6.  64. 

27-56.  Coleridge  says,  "I  have  always  thought  this,  in  itself  so 
beautiful  speech,  the  least  explicable  from  the  mood  and  full  inten- 
tion of  the  speaker  of  any  in  the  whole  works  of  Shakespeare.  I 
cherish  the  hope  that  I  am  mistaken,  and  that,  becoming  wiser,  I 
shall  discover  some  profound  excellence  in  that,  in  which  I  now 
appear  to  detect  an  imperfection."  To  this  the  American  critic, 
Verplanck  replies,  "I  cannot  perceive  the  difficulty — the  speech 
corresponds  with  the  mixed  character  of  the  speaker,  too  generous 
not  to  see  and  acknowledge  his  rival's  merit,  yet  not  sufficiently 
magnanimous  to  be  free  from  the  malignant  desire  of  revenging 
himself  upon  his  rival  for  that  very  superiority  ".  Surely  Coleridge 
is  right.  The  speech  is  out  of  keeping  with  Aufidius'  mood  in  this 
scene.  Perhaps  the  explanation  is  that  it  is  not  wholly  dramatic ; 
for  once  the  dramatist,  not  the  puppet,  speaks.  On  the  eve  of  the 
catastrophe  Shakespeare  pauses,  to  sum  up  his  hero's  career  so  far. 

27.  yields.  So  F  1 ;  the  other  Ff.  have  yield.  Another  instance 
of  singular  verb  and  plural  subject. 

33.  osprey.  Spelt  Aspray  in  the  Ff.  The  osprey  was  supposed 
to  fascinate  fish,  as  the  serpent  birds.  Cf.  Two  Noble  Kinsmen, 
L  1 — 

"  Your  actions 
Soon  as  they  move,  as  ospreys  do  the  fish, 
Subdue  before  they  touch  ". 

36.  Carry  his  honours  even.  The  metaphor  is  from  balancing, 
1  carry  his  honours,  and  keep  his  equilibrium  '. 

36-44.  Johnson  has  an  admirable  paraphrase  of  these  lines: 
"Aufidius  assigns  three  probable  reasons  of  the  miscarriage  of  Corio- 
lanus: pride,  which  easily  follows  an  uninterrupted  train  of  success; 
unskilfulness  to  regulate  the  consequences  of  his  own  victories;  a 
stubborn  uniformity  of  nature,  which  could  not  make  the  proper 


Scene  7.]  NOTES.  143 

transition  from  the  '  casque '  or  '  helmet '  to  the  '  cushion '  or  *  chair 
of  civil  authority';  but  acted  with  the  same  despotism  in  peace  as  in 
war." 

37.  out  of  daily  fortune,  '  arising  from  uninterrupted  success  \ 

38.  defect.     So  Ff.  2-4;  F  1  has  detect. 

45.  not  all.  Aufidius  will  not  say  that  Coriolanus  has  any  of 
these  bad  qualities — pride,  defect  of  judgment,  stiffness  of  nature — 
in  the  extreme. 

47,  48.  Aufidius  has  been  summing  up  Coriolanus'  faults.  He 
breaks  off,  'And  yet — after  all,  his  merit  is  so  great,  that  one  hardly 
likes  to  speak  his  faults'.  Other  explanations  of  the  passage  are: 
Johnson's,  "  He  has  a  merit  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  destroy  it 
by  boasting  of  it ";  and  Wright's,  "  He  was  banish'd,  but  his  merit 
was  great  enough  to  have  prevented  the  sentence  from  being  uttered". 

'  48-52.  This  passage  is  rather  a  crux.  Many  emendations  have 
been  proposed,  which  only  darken  counsel,  and  innumerable  expla- 
nations, of  which  none  seem  to  me  to  approach  the  sense.  I  quote 
two  given  by  Mr.  Beeching.  In  one  the  lines  are  treated  as  praise 
of  Coriolanus :  "Time,  the  great  interpreter,  reveals  our  virtues  (not- 
withstanding banishment,  &c);  and  power  which  appreciates  its 
own  desert  will  not  find  so  conspicuous  a  monument  as  a  public 
chair  from  which  it  may  be  praised  ".  In  the  other  they  are  treated 
as  blame:  "  Our  virtues  become  vices  if  they  do  not  interpret  occa- 
sions rightly  (a  reference  to  Coriolanus'  'defect  of  judgment');  and 
power  which  has  a  good  opinion  of  itself  finds  no  so  ready  grave 
as  a  public  office  it  may  use  for  self-praise  (referring  to  Coriolanus' 
'pride').  I  do  not  think  that  'chair'  in  line  51  means  either  the 
chair  of  the  panegyrist  or  the  chair  of  the  magistrate.  '  Not  a  tomb 
so  evident  as  a  chair'  is  surely  a  way  of  saying  'no  tomb  at  all', 
'  not  a  wooden  chair,  much  less  a  sumptuous  seated  statue '.  Then 
'unto  itself  I  take  as  'in  itself,  an  odd  construction,  but  formed 
from  '  to  give  commendation  unto  virtues '.  The  whole  passage  is 
a  general  moral  drawn  from  Coriolanus'  fate  in  Rome,  suggested  by 
the  thought  of  his  '  merit '  just  referred  to  in  line  47.  I  paraphrase, 
'Coriolanus  was  meritorious,  but  merit  is  as  our  contemporaries 
choose  to  think  it.  A  man  may  have  power,  and  deserve  commen- 
dation, yet  if  his  fellow-citizens  choose,  he  may  be  blotted  out,  and 
not  the  slightest  monument  left  to  speak  his  praise.' " 

The  kind  of  sentiment  is  that  so  often  put  in  the  mouth  of  a 
Greek  chorus. 

48.  virtues.     So  Ff.  2-4;  F  1  has  virtue. 

51.  I  quote  a  few  audacious  emendations  of  the  Ff.  text:  tomb  so 
evident  as  a  cheer  (Collier),  tongue  so  eloquent  as  a  chair  (Grant 
White),  trump  so  evident  as  a  child s  (Bailey),  tongue  so  eloquent  as 
a  choir  (Bulloch),  proem  so  evident  as  a  tear  (Wetherell). 

53»  54-  Aufidius  continues  in  an  excited  strain,  '  Reputations  rise 
and  fall,  each  pushing  another  out  of  its  way.     So  may  I  push  away 

(  M  415  )  L 


144  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Coriolanus.'    The  excitement  is  shown  by  the  rhyme,  so  rare  in  the 
play.     Cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §17. 

54.  founder.  So  Johnson  for  the  fouler  of  the  Ff.  Clearly  a 
verb  is  wanted,  and  neither  Dyce's  falter  nor  any  other  of  the 
numerous  emendations  proposed  is  as  good. 

There  is  nothing  to  mark  the  time  of  this  scene,  as  the  note  of 
locality,  '  A  camp,  at  a  small  distance  from  Rome',  is  Theobald's, 
and  not  from  the  Ff.  It  may  be  taken  as  synchronous  with  act  iv. 
scene  6,  or  as  following  it  after  a  brief  interval.  The  total  interval 
between  act  iv.  scene  5  and  act  v.  scene  I  must  be  sufficient  for 
the  Volscian  army  to  march  to  Rome,  and  for  the  first  ineffectual 
embassies  to  return  from  Coriolanus'  camp. 


Act  V.— Scene  I. 

The  present  act  witnesses  the  ultimate  tragic  failure  of  Coriolanus. 
In  the  fourth  act  he  attempted,  after  his  exile  from  Rome,  to  re- 
establish himself  in  his  own  eyes,  to  rebuild  his  shattered  ideal.  He 
has  changed  his  skies,  and  thinks  that  he  has  changed  his  mind. 
Could  he  have  done  this,  then  indeed  he  might  have  begun,  and 
Succeeded,  again.  But  we  are  to  realize  that  the  attempt  was  an 
impossibility.  You  cannot  lightly,  in  an  hour,  throw  off  the  bonds  of 
a  lifetime.  Rome  Coriolanus  could  discard,  for  he  had  never  been 
at  heart  a  patriot;  but  the  personal  relations  which  had  made  him 
what  he  was,  these  cling  to  him  and  bring  his  scheme  to  ruin.  Of 
these  his  love  and  admiration  for  his  moiher,  and  his  antagonism  to 
antagonism  are  the  chief.  These  now  come  strongly  into  play.  At 
his  mother's  bidding  he  turns  back  from  the  gates  of  Rome,  and 
thus  gives  occasion  for  Aufidius'  smouldering  envy  to  blaze  forth 
against  him.  In  his  last  days  he  recovers  dignity,  but  nevertheless 
he  has  failed,  and  the  fact  is  acknowledged,  in  right  Shakespearean 
fashion,  by  his  death. 

In  the  first  two  scenes  our  feelings  are  worked  up  to  the  required 
pitch,  that  the  gravity  of  Volumnia's  mission,  upon  which  hangs 
the  destiny  of  a  nation,  may  fully  appear.  In  the  first  the  conster- 
nation of  Rome  is  painted.  Menenius  desires  to  make  himself  im- 
portant: he  will  be  prayed  to  go,  but  he  does  not  seriously  despair 
of  success.  The  tribunes  and  Cominius,  however,  put  little  hope  in 
him. 

Shakespeare  describes  two  personal  embassies  to  Coriolanus, 
those  of  Cominius  and  Menenius,  before  that  of  the  women.  Here 
he  departs  from  Plutarch,  in  order  to  get  the  personal  element 
necessary  to  a  drama.  In  North's  Plutarch  we  hear  of  (1)  an  em- 
bassy from  Coriolanus'  familiar  friends  and  acquaintances  (§  96);  (2) 
a  second  embassage  after  thirty  days'  truce  (§§  100,  101).     These 


Scene  i.]  NOTES.  145 

may  correspond  roughly  to  the  embassies  of  Cominius  and  Menenius. 
There  is  also  (3)  an  embassy  of  priests  (§  102)  which  Shakespeare 
omits,  together  with  some  quotations  from  Homer,  as  dramatically 
superfluous. 

1.  he,  Cominius. 

2.  Which,  often  used  for  ■  who '.     Cf.  Abbott,  §  265. 

3.  In  a  most  dear  particular,  with  a  particularly  close  affection. 
He,  Coriolanus. 

5.  knee,  make  upon  your  knees.     Cf.  i.  I.  90,  note. 

6.  coy'd,  showed  disdain  or  unwillingness.  Cf.  i.  1.  9°>  note, 
and  Glossary. 

16.  rack'd,  i.e.  toiled:  cf.  Glossary.  This  is  Pope's  emendation 
for  the  wrack d  of  the  Ff.  Hanmer  suggested  sack' d  fair  Rome, 
Dyce  wrecked  fair  Rome,  Long  wracked  poor  Rome,  Leo  worked  for 
Rome,  &c.  &c. 

17.  To  make  coals  cheap,  because,  if  Rome  itself  is  to  be  fired, 
coals  will  be  superfluous.  There  is  a  cut  at  the  commercial  instincts 
of  the  tribunes. 

20.  a  bare  petition,  that  is,  a  bare-faced  petition.  Rome  had 
not  pardoned  Coriolanus;  yet  Rome  had  the  face  to  ask  pardon  from 
him.     Mason  conjectured  base. 

21.  Menenius  can  hardly,  regret  this  answer  to  the  Rome  of  the 
tribunes;  but  that  Coriolanus  should  have  lost  all  regard  for  his 
private  friends  does  shock  him  somewhat. 

30.  this  brave  fellow,  Cominius.  Menenius  is  addressing  the 
tribunes. 

32.  Above  the  moon.  Cf.  iv.  5.  117:  "Scarr'd  the  moon  with 
splinters". 

34.  In  this  so  never-needed  help.  A  compressed  expression; 
the  full  meaning  is  •  in  this  time  in  which  help  was  never  so  needed'. 

37.  instant,  immediate. 

47.  Menenius  is  a  little  flattered,  and  very  confident  of  Coriolanus' 
esteem  for  himself.  Still  he  doubts  a  little.  The  notion  to  take 
Coriolanus  after  dinner  is  very  characteristic,  as  was  his  apologue  of 
the  belly  in  act  i.  scene  1,  of  the  self-indulgent  epicure.  He  has  not 
much  insight  into  character. 

49.  hum,  not  '  hum  a  tune ',  but  '  greet  him  with  a  ■  Hum '  of 
scorn ',  '  sniff'  at  him. 

50.  taken  well,  taken  diplomatically,  at  the  right  moment,  in  the 
right  mood. 

54.  conveyances  of  our  blood.  Moyes  {Medicine  in  Shake- 
speare, p.  9)  points  out  that  Shakespeare  knew  nothing  of  the  law 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  as  discovered  by  Harvey,  though 
many  of  his  phrases  suggest  it. 


146  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

57.  dieted  to  my  request,  fed  into  a  mood  favourable  to  my 
request 

59.  The  tribunes,  in  their  fear,  use  somewhat  gross  flattery  towards 
Menenius. 

62.  success.     The  word  covers  both  good  and  ill  success. 

63.  in  gold,  in  state;  cf.  North,  §  no.  But  there  does  not  seem 
much  point  in  this.     Does  it  mean,  *  in  bribes  he  has  rejected '? 

66.  Coriolanus  has  already  begun  to  feel  the  difficulties  of  his 
enterprise. 

67-69.  These  lines  have  proved  puzzling  to  commentators.  I 
have  put  a  comma  for  the  colon  of  F  I  after  me,  and  explain  '  He 
sent  me  an  offer  of  concessions,  strictly  limited,  and  dependent  on 
an  oath  to  observe  the  conditions  laid  down '.  Coriolanus  has  already 
begun  to  waver.  He  repeats  to  Menenius  in  v.  2.  82  (cf.  v.  3.  13) 
the  offer  made  to  Cominius.  Johnson,  Malone,  and  others  have 
assumed  that  words  are  lost;  surely  the  last  refuge  of  a  commentator. 

70.  A  pause  of  meditative  despair. 

71.  Hope,  personified,  is  identified  with  the  mother  and  wife. 

The  time-relations  of  this  scene  to  the  last  are  not  clearly  indicated. 
A  brief  interval  may  be  assumed.  See  note  ad  fin.  of  act  iv.  scene 
7,  where  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  total  interval  between  act  iv. 
scene  5  and  act  v.  scene  I  must  be  sufficient  for  the  Volscian  army 
to  march  to  Rome,  and  for  Cominius  to  visit  and  return  from  the 
camp. 

Scene  2. 

Menenius'  failure  intensifies  the  importance  of  Volumnia's  attempt. 
Everything  now  depends  on  that,  and  it  is  so  little  likely  to  succeed. 
Yet  Coriolanus  begins  to  show  signs  of  breaking  down  in  his  resolve. 
His  position  is  growing  intolerable. 

For  the  material  in  North's  Plutarch  for  this  scene,  see  the  note 
at  the  beginning  of  act  v.  sc.  1. 

2.  Menenius,  though  he  may  have  his  qualms,  assumes  an  air  of 
assurance.  And,  verily,  he  can  hardly  believe  that  he  has  no  longer 
any  influence  with  Coriolanus. 

10.  lots  to  blanks,  i.e.  long  odds.  The  'lots'  are  the  prizes  in 
a  lottery ;  but  the  point  of  the  metaphor  lies  not  in  the  number  of 
the  lots,  which  is  of  course  less  than  that  of  the  blanks,  but  in  their 
relative  value. 

n.  Menenius  brings  out  his  name  with  an  air,  but  it  does  not 
prove  an  *  Open  Sesame '. 

14.  lover,  often  used  of  intimate  male  friends.  Cf.  the  Sonnets, 
passim ;  and  so  John  Donne  in  his  letters  to  Sir  Henry  Goodere. 


Scene  2.]  NOTES.  147 

15.  the  book,  the  chronicle.  Menenius  has  never  been  weary 
of  recording  Coriolanus'  deeds,  nor  forgotten  the  details  of  them. 
Cf.  e.g.  ii.  1.  137. 

17.  verified,  spoken  up  for,  borne  witness  to.  Numerous  emen- 
dations have  been  suggested — magnified  (Hanmer),  glorified  (Leo), 
deified  (Cartwright),  vivified  (Bulloch),  amplified  (Hudson).  Most  of 
these  assume  that  a  word  implying  exaggeration  is  wanted,  but  that 
does  not  come  until  lines  19-22. 

20.  subtle,  deceptive.  Steevens  quotes  Jonson's  Chloridia, 
"Tityus'  breast,  that  is... counted  the  subtlest  bowling-green  in  all 
Tartarus  ". 

21.  tumbled  past  the  throw,  overshot  the  mark.  The  point 
in  bowls  is  to  leave  the  bowl  lying  as  near  the  jack  or  mark  aimed 
at  as  possible ;  the  meaning  therefore  is,  '  I  have  been  so  careful  not 
to  say  anything  less  than  he  merited,  that  I  may  have  said  a  little 
more '. 

22.  stamp'd  the  leasing,  made  untruth  pass  as  good  coin. 
29.  factionary,  a  partisan. 

34.  after  dinner.     Cf.  v.  1.  50-58. 

40.  easy,  ready,  easy  to  call  up.  Collier's  queasy  and  Staunton's 
wheezy  are  quite  unnecessary. 

53.  half-pint  of  blood,  all  there  is  in  an  old  man's  veins. 

57.  companion,  a  term  of  depreciation.     Cf.  iv.  5.  12,  note. 

errand,  spelt  arrant  in  Ff.  1-3.  Mr.  Beeching  points  out  that  in 
Raleigh's  poem  The  Lie,  the  word  rhymes  to  '  warrant '.  '  Say  an 
errand  for  you'  seems  to  mean  'get  you  sent  on  an  errand,  i.e. 
to  punishment '. 

59.  Jack  guardant,  Jack  on  guard.  Cf.  the  better-known  phrase 
'Jack  in  office',  and  Glossary,  s. v.  Jack. 

office  me,  keep  me  by  virtue  of  his  office.     Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 

60.  entertainment  with  him,  reception  from  him. 

67.  water,  his  tears. 

69.  our.  S0F4;  Ff.  1-3  have  your.  It  is  rather  far-fetched  to 
make  this  mean  '  the  gates  of  what  was  your  city '. 

76.  servanted,  made  servants  to.     Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 

77.  properly,  personally. 

87.  Aufidius  speaks  with  concealed  irony.  He  sees  Coriolanus' 
possible  weakness,  not  so  the  duller  soldier  in  line  101. 

100.  Menenius  has  borne  his  repulse  with  dignity,  and  the  soldier 
feels  it. 

This  scene  closely  follows  scene  1. 


148  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Scene  3. 

This  is  perhaps  the  finest  scene  in  the  play.  It  is  also  one  of  the 
most  important.  Two  mighty  kindred  spirits  clash  together ;  and  in 
the  clash  Coriolanus'  second  failure  is  determined.  The  powerful 
individuality  of  Volumnia,  kept  in  the  background  hitherto  and  only 
suggested,  now  dominates  the  action,  and,  by  contact  with  her, 
Coriolanus  too  rises  to  a  pitch  of  higher  dignity  than  he  has  yet 
reached. 

The  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch,  §§  109-115,  much  of 
Volumnia's  speeches  being  borrowed  almost  word  for  word.  Shake- 
speare has  omitted  the  unimportant  fact  related  at  length  by  Plu- 
tarch, that  the  expedition  was  proposed  by  Valeria  {North,  §§  105 
-108). 

3.  plainly,  straightforwardly. 

4-8.  Aufidius  speaks  somewhat  hypocritically ;  this  is  not  the  way 
he  means  to  represent  things  at  Antium.  Coriolanus  has  no  sus- 
picion of  the  envy  that  watches  his  every  action. 

11.  godded,  made  a  god  of.     Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 

16.  Aufidius  is  noting  these  successive  yield  ings. 

24.  Coriolanus  would  strengthen  himself  by  re-assertions  of  his 
resolve,  a  sure  sign  that  he  mistrusts  it. 

32,  35.  Note  the  accent,  aspect,  instinct,  and  cf.  Essay  on  Metre, 
§  10  (i). 

38.  'I  do  not  look  upon  you  as  I  did;  you  cannot  melt  me  now.' 
wore.     Cf.  ii.  1.  163:    "Such  eyes  the  widows  in  Corioles 

wear  ". 

39.  '  It  is  not  you  are  changed ;  we,  worn  out  with  sorrow,  can- 
not move  you.' 

40.  Cf.  Sonnet  xxiii.  1 — 

"As  an  unperfect  actor  on  the  stage, 
Who  with  his  fear  is  put  beside  his  part ". 

41.  out,  the  technical  phrase  for  an  actor  who  has  forgotten  his 
part.  Cf.  As  You  Like  It,  iv.  1.  75  :  "  Very  good  orators,  when  they 
are  out,  they  will  spit".  Shakespeare's  frequent  stage-metaphors 
come  naturally  from  an  actor-dramatist. 

42.  Best  of  my  flesh.  Coriolanus  addresses  Virgilia,  his  'better 
half. 

46.  queen  of  heaven,  Hera-Juno,  always  jealous  of  Zeus- 
Jupiter. 

48.  virgin'd  it,  remained  a  virgin.  Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note,  and  for 
the  impersonal  form  of  the  phrase  cf.  'foot  it'  in  ii.  3.  1 12,  and 
Abbott,  §  226. 

prate.     So  Theobald  for  the  pray  of  the  Ff- 


Scene  3.]  NOTES.  149 

57.  corrected,  rebuked,  for  his  delay  in  greeting  her. 
58-60.   For  the  hyperbole  cf.  iv.  3.  107;  v.  I.  31. 

58.  hungry,  perhaps  'barren';  perhaps  'greedy  for  shipwrecks'. 
Malone  conjectured  angry. 

63.  holp.     So  Pope  for  the  hope  of  the  Ff. 

64.  In  these  elaborate  greetings  Coriolanus  would  seem  to  be 
trying  to  put  off  the  inevitable  struggle  which  he  sees  before  him. 

65.  moon,  always  a  symbol  of  chastity.      Cf.  L  1.  248;  ii.  I.  86. 
68.  This.     Volumnia  points  to  young  Marcius. 

epitome,  a  summary  in  brief,  on  a  small  scale.  So  Hamlet 
(ii.  2.  548)  calls  the  players  "  the  abstract  and  brief  chronicles  of  the 
time  ". 

70.  The  god  of  soldiers,  Mars. 

'76.  Dr.  Nicholson  says :  "  The  stage  action  here  to  which  Corio- 
lanus replies  is  this :  the  boy  refuses  to  kneel,  but  interposes  between 
the  kneeling  ladies  and  Coriolanus  ".  See  his  after-speech  "  'A  shall 
not  tread  on  me",  &c.  This  is  far-fetched,  and  I  agree  with  the 
Cambridge  editors,  who  say:  "Coriolanus  seems  rather  to  commend 
the  boy  for  doing  as  he  was  bid.  To  refuse  to  kneel  would  suit  ill 
with  his  'aspect  of  intercession'  (line  32).  Besides,  he  kneels, 
without  being  specially  told  to  do  so,  afterwards  (line  175)." 

80.  The  thing.  The  strict  grammar  would  be  'Denials  of  the 
thing'. 

97.  unfortunate.     Cf.  North,  §  112,  and  the  remarks  on  this 
passage  at  the  beginning  of  Appendix  A. 
all,  all  other. 

103.  we,  Shakespeare's  use  of  the  inflections  of  personal  pronouns 
is  very  irregular.     Cf.  Abbott,  §§  205-216. 

109,  no.  or... or,  for  either. ..or,  is  frequent.     Cf.  Abbott,  §  136. 

117.  the  palm,  the  sign  of  victory. 

120.  determine,  used  intransitively,  '  come  to  a  term  or  close '. 

125.  Ay.     A  sob  fills  out  the  foot :  cf.  Essay  on  Metre,  §  14. 

127,  128.  The  childish  interruption  is  in  prose;  it  increases  the 
pathos  of  the  situation. 

129.  Coriolanus  can  hardly  hold  out. 

149-153.  Volumnia  suggests  that  Coriolanus  has  brought  Rome  to 
her  knees  to  save  his  honour,  never  meaning  really  to  injure  her,  just 
as  Jove  when  he  thunders  injures  nothing  more  important  than  a 
tree. 

149.  fine  strains  of  honour.  We  say  '  the  point  of  honour ', 
that  is,  'honour  strained  to  the  finest  point'.  Fine  is  Johnson's 
emendation  for  the  five  of  the  Ff. 

152.  charge.     So  Warburton  for  the  change  of  the  Ff. 


150  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

155.  Still,  constantly,  for  ever. 

160.  Volumnia  plays  her  part  with  no  less  tact  than  dignity.  She 
appeals  to  patriotism  and  reason,  and  falls  back  on  a  woman's  last 
resource,  the  pathetic.  Perhaps  a  tear  comes,  which  Coriolanus  has 
never  seen  on  her  cheek  before. 

166.  This  is  true:  it  is  not  argument,  but  the  power  of  one  soul 
over  another  that  is  to  move  Coriolanus. 

179.  his  child.  So  the  Ff.  Theobald  proposed  this  child.  But 
the  paradox  is  intentional. 

184.  unnatural.  The  whole  situation  is  unnatural;  a  Roman 
making  war  on  Rome ;  a  mother  pleading  with  her  son  for  mercy ;  a 
conqueror  melted  by  a  woman. 

188.  Coriolanus  has  after  all  not  been  able  to  undo  his  past  in 
Rome,  he  knows  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  undo  his  past  in  Antium 
either.  Honour  will  oblige  him  to  return  and  render  his  account  to 
the  Volscians,  to  whom  he  has  proved  a  traitor. 

190.  true,  true  to  my  promise. 

191-194.  Coriolanus  appeals  to  Aufidius,  whom  he  has  come  to 
regard  as  a  personal  friend,  and  from  whom  he  hopes  for  some 
support.  Aufidius  answers  little.  He  is  hypocritical,  but  perhaps  a 
little  moved  also. 

201.  '  I  '11  recover  the  position  in  Antium  you  have  supplanted  me 
in.' 

202.  While  Aufidius  speaks  aside,  Coriolanus  talks  with  the 
ladies.  Probably  they  urge  him  to  return  to  Rome. 

203.  drink  together,  in  sign  of  peace.     Cf.  2  Henry  IV.,  iv.  2. 

63- 

"  And  here  between  the  armies, 
Let 's  drink  together  friendly  and  embrace, 
That  all  their  eyes  may  bear  those  tokens  home 
Of  our  restored  love  and  amity  ". 

204.  205.  Coriolanus  has  verbally  laid  his  terms  before  the  ladies. 
He  will  send  the  like  conditions  written  and  authenticated  by  his 
seal  and  Aufidius. 

This  scene  follows  closely  upon  scene  2. 

Scene  4. 

The  real  action,  so  far  as  Coriolanus'  fate  is  concerned,  is  carried 
on  in  the  last  scene  in  the  act.  There  is  a  slight  pause  first,  and 
the  importance  of  his  concession  to  his  mother  is  emphasized  by  the 
contrast,  in  scenes  4  and  5,  between  despair  and  rejoicing  in  Rome. 
As  before,  Menenius  and  the  tribunes,  now  too  overwhelmed  to 
bicker,  stand  for  the  two  elements  in  the  city. 

This  scene  has  no  direct  equivalent  in  Plutarch. 


Scene  5.]  NOTES.  151 

3.  Menenius  hardly  thinks  that  others  will  succeed  where  he  has 
failed. 

6.  stay  upon,  await. 

9-12.  'This  change  in  Marcius  is  but  a  natural  development, 
considering  his  circumstances.'  For  the  dragon  metaphor  cf.  iv. 
I.  30;  iv.  7.  22. 

18.  his  hum.     Cf.  v.  1.  49. 

ig.  made  for  Alexander,  made  to  be  an  Alexander. 

21.  of  a  god,  proper  to  a  god. 

22.  to  throne  in,  to  be  enthroned  in.     Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 
24.  in  the  character,  as  he  really  is. 

27.  long  of  you,  still  a  vulgarism  for  '  through  you '. 

32.  The  Roman  populace  is  fickle  as  ever;  and  the  intrigues  of 
the  tribunes  have  fallen  on  themselves. 

40.  th'  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins,  this,  too,  an  occasion  when 
Coriolanus  played  a  great  part.     Cf.  ii.  2.  83-94. 

44,  45.  A  fine  metaphor.     Cf.  Lucrece,  1667 — 

"  As  through  an  arch  the  violent  roaring  tide 
Outruns  the  eye  that  doth  behold  his  haste  ". 

Is  the  crowd  pouring  out  of  the  gates,  the  siege  being  raised,  or  in 
through  them,  having  accompanied  the  ladies  to  the  border  of  the 
camp? 

44.  blown.     Either  ■  swollen '  or  *  the  wind  helping  it '. 

48.  the  sun  dance.    Cf.  Suckling,  Ballad  upon  a  Wedding— 

"  But,  O,  she  dances  such  a  way, 
No  sun  upon  an  Easter  Day 
Is  half  so  fine  a  sight ". 

51.  Menenius  takes  heart  to  gibe  at  the  tribunes  once  more. 

52.  pray'd,  in  line  28. 

58.  at  point  to  enter,  on  the  point  of  entering. 
This  scene  follows  closely  on  scene  3. 

Scene  5. 

Dyce  first  treated  this  as  a  separate  scene,  according  to  the  usual 
custom  when  the  stage  is  left  empty. 

This  scene  is  based  on  North's  Plutarch,  §  117. 

4.  Unshout.     So  Rowe  for  the  Unshoot  of  the  Ff.     The  verb  is 
on  the  analogy  of  '  Unsay ',  and  means  '  cancel  by  a  new  shout '. 
This  scene  follows  immediately  on  scene  4. 


152  CORIOLANUS.  [Act  V. 

Scene  6. 

Rome  is  saved,  but  there  is  no  salvation  for  Coriolanus.  So  much 
he  recognized  in  v.  3.  188.  He  has  failed  to  re-establish  himself  in 
Antium.  He  cannot  make  yet  another  attempt  in  Rome.  Things 
came  to  such  a  pass  that  he  could  not  escape  but  by  impiety  or 
treachery.  He  chose  treachery,  and  gave  the  watchful  Aufidius  a 
handle  over  him.  His  death  ends  the  tangle,  or  rather  serves  to 
indicate  what  a  tangle,  what  a  tragedy  it  all  is.  For  that  is  the 
purpose  which  death  at  the  close  of  a  Shakespearean  drama  generally 
serves. 

This  scene  is  based  upon  North's  Plutarch,  §§  121-126. 

Corioles.  So  Singer.  Rowe  puts  the  scene  in  Antium,  but  cf. 
line  90.     It  is  Antium  in  Plutarch  (§  121). 

5.  Him,  'he  whom':  for  the  merging  of  relative  and  antecedent 
cf.  Abbott,  §  246. 

10.  his  own  alms.  Aufidius  refers  to  his  generosity  towards 
Coriolanus. 

21,  22.  who... he.     The  subject  is  repeated. 

22.  flattery.  Surely  Aufidius  is  deliberately  misrepresenting 
Coriolanus. 

26.  stoutness,  firmness. 

28.  That  I  would  have  spoke  of.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  he 
slurs  it  over. 

36.  end,  gather  in.     Cf.  Glossary. 

39.  waged,  paid  me  wages.     Cf.  i.  I.  90,  note. 

40.  mercenary,  in  the  literal  sense  of  mercenarius,  a  soldier 
serving  for  pay. 

44.  sinews,  abilities,  lit.  nerves.     Cf.  Glossary. 

45~47-  So  Coriolanus'  action  appears  to  the  unsympathetic  ob- 
server. 

49.  like  a  post,  as  if  Aufidius  had  been  a  mere  messenger,  bring- 
ing news  of  Coriolanus'  success. 

57.  After  your  way.  Aufidius'  'way'  may  be  seen  in  lines  20-40 
and  lines  90-100.  But  once  Coriolanus  is  dead,  he  does  behave  more 
generously. 

67.  charge,  in  the  sense  of  'a  bill  to  pay';  'bringing  us  back 
nothing  except  our  expenses  to  meet '.  As  to  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment cf.  line  77. 

70.  Coriolanus  puts  a  bold  face  upon  matters  and  does  not  apolo- 
gize for  his  action. 

85.  your  powers,  the  powers  you  entrusted  to  him. 

86.  Aufidius,  like  the  tribunes  of  old,  knows  exactly  how  to 
'  draw '  Coriolanus. 


Scene  6.]  NOTES.  153 

95,  96.  never  admitting  Counsel  o'  th'  war,  taking  no  advice 
from  me,  his  nominal  colleague. 

100.  No  more.     'You  are  no  better.' 

105.  his  own  notion,  his  own  consciousness. 

in.  Boy.  The  false  interpretations  put  upon  Coriolanus  restore 
much  of  our  sympathy  to  him.  His  action  was  that  of  a  traitor,  but 
it  was  certainly  not  dictated  by  cowardice. 

119.  presently,  immediately. 

123.  folds-in,  extends  beyond  and  around. 

125.  judicious,  judicial,  impartial. 

142,  143.  herald... urn.  A  curious  combination  of  the  Roman 
urn  and  the  mediaeval  custom  of  a  herald  attending  at  a  funeral. 

145.  The  closing  speech  is  well  put  in  the  mouth  of  Aufidius,  who 
throughout  the  play  has  been  divided  between  envy  and  admiration 
of  his  rival. 

150.  unchilded,  robbed  of  children.     Cf.  i.  1.  90,  note. 

An  interval  is  required  between  this  scene  and  scene  5  for  the 
completion  of  peace,  and  the  return  of  the  Volscian  army  to  Corioli. 


APPENDIX  A. 


NORTH'S  TRANSLATION   OF  PLUTARCH'S   LIFE 
OF   CORIOLANUS. 

Shakespeare's  sole  historical  source  for  Coriolanus,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  a  passage  in  Camden's  Remaines 
(1605),  (cf.  Appendix  B),  seems  to  have  been  Plutarch's  Life  of 
Coriolanus  in  the  English  rendering  of  Sir  Thomas  North.1 
The  original  life  of  Coriolanus,  together  with  that  of  Al- 
cibiades  and  a  comparison  between  the  two,  forms  a  book  of 
the  Parallel  Lives  of  the  Noble  Greeks  and  Romans  written 
by  M.  Annaeus  Plutarchus  of  Chaeronea  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  first  century  a.d.  The  Lives  were  translated  from  Greek 
into  French,  with  or  without  the  help  of  an  intermediate  Latin 
version,  by  Jaques  Amyot,  Abbot  of  Bellozane,  and  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Auxerre.  Amyot's  book  appeared  in  1559,  and  in 
its  turn  was  made  the  basis  of  an  English  translation  by 
Thomas,  afterwards  Sir  Thomas,  North,  the  younger  son  of 
Edward  Baron  North  of  Kirtling.  This  version  is  a  magnifi- 
cent example  of  Tudor  English.     It  first  appeared  in  15^ — 

the  preface  is  dated  24  January  1579— with  the  following 
title-page : — 

The  Lives  of  |  The  Noble  Grecians  |  and  Romanes  |  Com- 
pared Together  by  that  Grave  Learn-  |  ed  Philosopher 
and  Historiographer  |  Plutarke  of  Chaeronea  |  Trans- 
lated out  of  Greeke  into  French  by  |  James  Amyot  | 
Abbot  of  Bellozane,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  One  of  the  | 
King's  Privy  Counsel,  and  Great  Amner  of  France  |  And 
out  of  French  into  Englishe  by  |  Thomas  North  |  1 579. 

1  The  student  may  consult  the  following  authorities:  G.  Wyndham,  Introduction 
to  North's  Plutarch  in  W.  E.  Henley's  Tudor  Translations  Series;  W.W.  Skeat, 
Shakespeare's  Plutarch ;  A.  P.  Paton,  North's  Plutarch :  Notes  as  to  a  Copy  of 
this  Work  in  the  Greenock  Library  (reprinted  in  the  Hamnet  Shakespeare,  pt.  vi. ) ; 
J.  O.  Halliwell-Phillips,  Hint  on  the  Date  of  Coriolanus  {New  Shakspere 
Society's  Transactions  (1874),  367);  R.  C.  Trench,  Plutarch,  his  Life,  his  Lives, 
and  his  Morals ;  N.  Delius,  Shakespeare' s  Coriolan  in  seinem  Verhaltniss  zunt 
Coriolan  des  Plutarch  (German  Shakespeare  Society's  Jahrbuch,  xi.  32). 


APPENDIX  A.  155 

Later  editions  were  published  in  1 595, 1603  (augmented,  this, 
with  renderings  of  some  Latin  compilations  by  one  S[imon] 
G[oulard]  S[enlisien]),  161 2,  163 1, 1656,  and  1676.  The  book 
appears  to  have  been  Shakespeare's  principal  source  for  Julius 
Caesar,  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  and  Coriolanus,  and  to  have 
served  in  a  less  degree  for  A  Midsummer-Nighfs  Dream, 
Timon  of  Athens,  and  The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen.  It  has  been 
a  matter  of  dispute  which  edition  Shakespeare  is  most  likely 
to  have  used.  Mr.  Halliwell-Phillips  has  argued  from  a  pass- 
age in  our  play  that  it  must  have  been  that  of  161 2.  Volumnia 
says  in  v.  3.  96-98 — 

"Think  with  thyself 

How  more  unfortunate  than  all  living  women 

Are  we  come  hither  ". 

The  corresponding  passage  in  North  is  in  §  112.  Here  the 
three  first  editions  read  unfortunately,  that  of '16 12  unfortunate. 
Critics  of  this  argument  have  remarked  that  the  alteration 
may  have  been  first  made  by  Shakespeare,  and  borrowed  from 
him  by  North's  reviser  in  161 2.  It  is  perhaps  more  to  the 
point,  that  even  if  Shakespeare  had  found  unfortunately  in 
the  text  before  him,  it  would  have  been  an  obvious  thing  to 
turn  it  into  unfortunate  for  the  sake  of  the  metre.  Mr.  Allan 
Park  Paton,  again,  has  pointed  out  that  there  is  in  the  Library 
at  Greenock  a  copy  of  the  161 2  edition  which  may  very  possibly 
have  been  Shakespeare's  own.  It  has  the  initials  W.S.  stamped 
on  the  cover.  At  the  top  of  the  title-page  is  written,  "Vive  :• 
ut  Vivas  :•  W.S.  :•  pretiu  18s",  and  the  same  handwriting, 
which  might  be  Shakespeare's,  occurs  in  two  other  places  in 
the  book.  One  is  the  account  of  Caesar's  death,  where 
*  Brute — Brutus '  is  written  in  the  margin.  It  is  perhaps  note- 
worthy that  the  phrase  Et  tu  Brute,  which  is  in  Shakespeare, 
is  not  in  Plutarch.  The  other  is  opposite  the  expression  '  the 
Ides  of  March'.  Here  the  margin  has  'March  15'.  Other 
passages  are  marked  with  the  :•  of  the  title-page,  nearly  all 
being  either  at  the  beginning  of  the  book,  or  in  the  Lives  of 
Antony,  Caesar,  and  Brutus.  But,  though  the  book  may  have 
been  Shakespeare's,  it  is  of  course  incredible  that  all  the  plays 
for  which  Plutarch  was  the  source  can  have  been  written  after 
161 2.  It  is  improbable  in  the  case  of  Coriolanus  and  Antony 
and  Cleopatra,  highly  improbable  in  the  case  of  Julius  Caesar, 
and  impossible  in  the  case  of  A  Midsummer- Night 's  Dream1. 
And  if  Shakespeare  must  have  consulted  an  earlier  edition  for 

1  On  the  dates  of  these  plays  see  the  Introductions  to  Mr.  Innes*  edition  of 
Julius  Caesar  and  mine  of  A  Midsummer-Night's  Dream  in  this  series. 


i56 


CORIOLANUS. 


some  of  these  plays,  he  may  have  done  so  for  all.  As  A  Mid- 
summer-Night's Dream  was  probably  written  in  or  about  the 
winter  of  1 594-5,  this  edition  must  have  been  that  of  1 579, 
the.  first. 

1  have  therefore  taken  the  edition  of  1 579  as  the  basis  of 
the  following  reprint.  I  have  divided  the  text,  for  convenience 
of  reference,  into  short  sections;  I  have  indicated  the  passages 
of  the  play  with  which  each  should  be  compared;  and  I  have 
shown  by  the  use  of  italics  where  Shakespeare  has  borrowed 
the  very  words  of  North.  For  comments  on  Shakespeare's 
treatment  of  his  material  the  notes  at  the  beginning  of  each 
scene  should  be  consulted. 


THE  LIFE  OF  CAIUS   MARTIUS   CORIOLANUS. 

§  1.  The  house  of  the  Martians  at  Rome  was  of  the  num- 
j  ber  of  the  Patricians,  out  of  the  which  hath  sprung  many 
;  noble  personages,  whereof  Ancus  Martius  was  one,  King 
\Numais  daughters  son,  who  was  King  of  Rome  after 
ii.3. 229-236^  Tullus  Hostilius.  Of  the  same  house  were  Publius  and 
Quintus,  who  brought  to  Rome  their  best  water  they  had, 
by  conduits.  Censorinus  also  came  of  that  family,  that 
!  was  so  surnamed,  because  the  people  had  chosen  him  Censor 
j  twice.  Through  whose  persuasion  they  made  a  law,  that 
no  man  from  thenceforth  might  require  or  enjoy  the  Cen- 
sorship twice.  §  2.  Caius  Martius,  whose  life  we  intend 
now  to  write,  being  left  an  orphan  by  his  father,  was 
brought  up  under  his  mother  a  widow ;  who  taught  us  by 
experience,  that  orphanage  bringeth  many  discommodities 
to  a  child,  but  doth  not  hinder  him  to  become  an  honest 
man,  and  to  excel  in  virtue  above  the  common  sort :  as 
they  that  are  meanly  born  wrongfully  do  complain,  that 
it  is  the  occasion  of  their  casting  away,  for  that  no  man 
in  their  youth  taketh  any  care  of  them  to  see  them  well 
brought  up,  and  taught  that  were  meet.  This  man  also 
is  a  good  proof  to  confirm  some  men's  opinions :  That  a 
rare  and  excellent  wit,  untaught,  doth  bring  forth  many 
good  and  evil  things  together :  like  as  a  fat  soil  bringeth 
forth  both  herbs  and  weeds  that  lieth  unmanured.  §  3.  For 
this  Martius'  natural  wit  and  great  heart  did  marvellously 
stir  up  his  courage  to  do  and  attempt  notable  acts,  gut 
onjhe  other  siHp,  for  lar.k  of  eHnrntini].  he  was  so  choleric 
and  impatient,  that  he  would  yield  to  nn  livintfrreatnre: 
whirTTTvraae  him  churlish.  uncivil!  and  altogether  unfit 
;  for  any  man's  conversation.  Yet  men  marvelling  much 
L  1.  38.  1 a*  his  constancy,  that  he  was  never  overcome  with  pleasure 
nor  money,  and  how  he  would  endure  easily  all  manner 
of  pains  and  travails:  thereupon  they  well  liked  and  com- 


APPENDIX  A. 


157 


mended  his  stoutness  and  temperancy.  But  for  all  that 
they  could  not  be  acquainted  with  him,  as  one  citizen 
useth  to  be  with  another  in  the  city.  His  behaviour  was 
so  unpleasant  to  them  by  reason  of  a  certain  insolent  and 
stern  manner  he  had,  which,  because  it  was  too  lordly, 
was  disliked.  And  to  say  truly,  the  greatest  benefit  that 
learning  bringeth  men  unto  is  this:  that  it  teacheth  men 
that  be  rude  and  rough  of  nature,  by  compass  and  rule  of 
reason,  to  be  civil  and  courteous,  and  to  like  better  the 
mean  state  than  the  higher.  Now  in  those  days,  valiant- 
ness  was  honoured  in  Rome  above  all  other  virtues:  which 
they  called  virtus,  by  the  name  of  virtue  itself,  as  includ- 
ing in  that  general  name  all  other  special  virtues  besides. 
So  that  virtus  in  the  Latin  was  as  much  as  valiantness.  { 
§  4.  But  Martius  being  more  inclined  to  the  wars  than 
any  other  gentleman  of  his  time,  began  from  his  childhood 
to  give  himself  to  handle  weapons,  and  daily  did  exercise 
himself  therein:  and  outward  he  esteemed  armour  to  no 
purpose,  unless  one  were  naturally  armed  within.  More- 
over he  did  so  exercise  his  body  to  hardness  and  all  kind 
of  activity,  that  he  was  very  swift  in  running,  strong  in 
wrestling,  and  mighty  in  gripping,  so  that  no  man  could 
ever  cast  him.  Insomuch  as  those  that  would  try  mas- 
teries with  him  for  strength  and  nimbleness,  would  say 
when  they  were  overcome:  that  all  was  by  reason  of  his 
natural  strength  and  hardness  of  ward,  that  never  yielded 
to  any  pain  or  toil  he  took  upon  him. 

§  5.  The  first  time  he  went  to  the  wars,  being  but  a 
stripling,  was  when  Tarquin  surnamed  the  proud  (that 
had  been  king  of  Rome,  and  was  driven  out  for  his  pride, 
after  many  attempts  made  by  sundry  battles  to  come  in 
again,  wherein  he  was  ever  overcome)  did  come  to  Rome 
with  all  the  aid  of  the  Latins,  and  many  other  people  of 
Italy:  even  as  it  were  to  set  up  his  whole  rest  upon  a 
battle  by  them,  who  with  a  great  and  mighty  army  had 
undertaken  to  put  him  into  his  kingdom  again,  not  so 
much  to  pleasure  him,  as  to  overthrow  the  power  of  the 
Romans,  whose  greatness  they  both  feared  and  envied. 
In  this  battle,  wherein  were  many  hot  and  sharp  en- 
counters of  either  party,  Martius  valiantly  fought  in  the 
sight  of  the  Dictator:  and  a  Roman  soldier  being  thrown 
to  the  ground  even  hard  by  him,  Martius  straight  bestrid 
him,  and  slew  the  enemy,  with  his  own  hands,  that  had 
before  overthrown  the  Roman  (ii.  1. 135).  §  6.  Hereupon, 
after  the  battle  was  won,  the  Dictator  did  not  forget  so 
noble  an  act,  and  therefore  first  of  all  he  crowned  Martius 
with  a  garland  of  oaken  boughs  (i.  3.  12;  ii.  1.  1 1 1).  For 
whosoever  saveth  the  life  of  a  Roman,  it  is  a  manner 
among  them,  to  honour  him  with  such  a  garland.     This 


i.  1.  36. 


2.  84-94. 


158  CORIOLANUS. 

was,  either  because  the  law  did  this  honour  to  the  oak, 
in  favour  of  the  Arcadians,  who  by  the  oracle  of  Apollo 
were  in  old  time  called  eaters  of  acorns:  or  else  because 
the  soldiers  might  easily  in  every  place  come  by  oaken 
boughs:  or  lastly,  because  they  thought  it  very  necessary, 
to  give  him  that  had  saved  a  citizen's  life,  a  crown  of  this 
tree  to  honour  him,  being  properly  dedicated  unto  Jupiter, 
the  patron  and  protector  of  their  cities,  and  thought 
amongst  other  wild  trees  to  bring  forth  a  profitable  fruit, 
and  of  plants  to  be  the  strongest.  Moreover,  men  at  the 
first  beginning  did  use  acorns  for  their  bread,  and  honey 
for  their  drink:  and  further,  the  oak  did  feed  their  beasts, 
and  give  them  birds,  by  taking  glue  from  the  oaks,  with 
the  which  they  made  bird-lime  to  catch  silly  birds. ,  §  7. 
They  say  that  Castor  and  Pollux  appeared  in  this  battle, 
and  how  incontinently  after  the  battle,  men  saw  them  in 
the  market-place  at  Rome,  all  their  horses  being  on  a 
white  foam :  and  they  were  the  first  that  brought  news  of 
the  victory,  even  in  the  same  place  where  remaineth  at 
this  present  a  temple  built  in  the  honour  of  them,  near 
unto  the  fountain.  And  this  is  the  cause  why  the  day  of 
this  victory  (which  was  the  fifteenth  of  July)  is  conse- 
crated yet  to  this  day  unto  Castor  and  Pollux.  §  8.  More- 
over it  is  daily  seen,  that  honour  and  reputation  lighting 
on  young  men  before  their  time,  and  before  they  have  no 
great  courage  by  nature,  the  desire  to  win  more  dieth 
straight  in  them,  which  easily  happeneth,  the  same  having 
no  deep  root  in  them  before.  Where  contrariwise,  the 
first  honour  that  valiant  minds  do  come  unto,  doth  quicken 
up  their  appetite,  hasting  them  forward  as  with  force  of 
wind,  to  enterprise  things  of  high-deserving  praise.  For 
they  esteem  not  to  receive  reward  for  service  done,  but 
rather  take  it  for  a  remembrance  and  encouragement,  to 
make  them  do  better  in  time  to  come:  and  be  ashamed 
also  to  cast  their  honour  at  their  heels,  not  seeking  to 
increase  it  still  by  like  desert  of  worthy  valiant  deeds. 
§  9.  This  desire  being  bred  in  Martius,  he  strained  still 
to  pass  himself  in  manliness :  and  being  desirous  to  shew 
a  daily  increase  of  his  valiantness,  his  noble  service  did 
still  advance  his  fame,  bringing  in  spoils  upon  spoils  from 
the  enemies.  Whereupon,  the  captains  that  came  after- 
wards (for  envy  of  them  that  went  before)  did  contend 
who  should  most  honour  him,  and  who  should  bear  most 
honourable  testimony  of  his  valiantness.  Insomuch  the 
Romans  having  many  wars  and  battles  in  those  days, 
Coriolanus  was  at  them  all:  and  there  was  not  a  battle 
fought,  from  whence  he  returned  not  without  some  reward 
jof  honour  (ii.  2.  94-97).  §  10.  And  as  for  other,  the  only 
I  respect  that  made  them  valiant,  was  they  hoped  to  have 


APPENDIX  A. 


159 


honour:  but  touching  Martius,  the  only  thing  that  made 
him  to  love  honour  was  the  joy  he  saw  his  mother  did 
take  of  him.  For  he  thought  nothing  made  him  so  happy 
and  honourable,  as  that  his  mother  might  hear  every  body 
praise  and  commend  him,  that  she  might  always  see  him 
return  with  a  crown  upon  his  head,  and  that  she  might 
still  embrace  him  with  tears  running  down  her  cheeks  for 
joy:  which  desire  they  say  Epaminondas  did  avow  and 
confess  to  have  been  in  him,  as  to  think  himself  a  most 
happy  and  blessed  man,  that  his  father  and  mother  in 
their  life  time  had  seen  the  victory  he  wan  in  the  plain  of 
Leuctres.  §  1 1.  Now  as  for  Epaminondas,  he  had  this  good 
hap,  to  have  his  father  and  mother  living,  to  be  partakers 
of  his  joy  and  prosperity:  but  Martius  thinking  all  due  to 
his  mother,  that  had  been  also  due  to  his  father  if  he  had 
Jived,  did  not  only  content  himself  to  rejoice  and  honour 
her,  but  at  her  desire  took  a  wife  also,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  and  yet  never  left  his  mother's  house  therefore. 
§  12.  Now  he  being  grown  to  great  credit  and  authority ; 
in  Rome  for  his  valiantness,  it  fortuned  there  grew  sedition ; 
in  the  city,  because  the  Senate  did  favour  the  rich  against ! 
the  people,  who  did  complain  of  the  sore  oppression  of! 
usurers,  of  whom  they  borrowed  money.  For  those  that  j 
had  little,  were  yet  spoiled  of  that  little  they  had  by  their  | 
creditors,  for  lack  of  ability  to  pay  the  usury:  who  offered! 
their  goods  to  be  sold  to  them  that  would  give  most.  And  I 
such  as  had  nothing  left,  their  bodies  were  laid  hold  of, 
and  they  were  made  their  bondmen,  notwithstanding  all 
the  wounds  and  cuts  they  shewed,  which  they  had  received 
in  many  battles,  fighting  for  defence  of  their  country  and 
commonwealth :  of  the  which,  the  last  war  they  made 
was  against  the  Sabines,  wherein  they  fought  upon  the 
promise  the  rich  men  had  made  them,  that  from  thence- 
forth they  would  entreat  them  more  gently,  and  also  upon 
the  word  of  Marcus  Valerius  chief  of  the  Senate,  who,  by 
authority  of  the  council,  and  in  the  behalf  of  the  rich,  said 
they  should  perform  that  they  had  promised.  §  13.  But 
after  that  they  had  faithfully  served  in  this  last  battle  of 
all,  where  they  overcame  their  enemies,  seeing  they  were 
never  a  whit  the  better,  nor  more  gently  entreated,  and 
that  the  Senate  would  give  no  ear  to  them,  but  make  as 
though  they  had  forgotten  their  former  promise,  and 
suffered  them  to  be  made  slaves  and  bondmen  to  their 
creditors,  and  besides,  to  be  turned  out  of  all  that  ever 
they  had:  they  fell  then  even  to  flat  rebellion  and  mutiny, 
and  to  stir  up  dangerous  tumults  within  the  city.  §  14.  The 
Romans'  enemies  hearing  of  this  rebellion,  did  straight 
enter  the  territories  of  Rome  with  a  marvellous  great 
power,  spoiling  and  burning  all  as  they  came.    Whereupon ; 

(M415) 


1. 1.  34. 


i.  1.  76. 


315. 


160  CORIOLANUS. 

the  Senate  immediately  made  open  proclamation  by 
sound  of  trumpet,  that  all  those  which  were  of  lawful  age 
to  carry  weapon,  should  come  and  enter  their  names  into 
the  muster-master's  book,  to  go  to  the  wars :  but  no  man 
obeyed  their  commandment.  Whereupon  their  chief 
magistrates  and  many  of  the  Senate  began  to  be  of  divers 
opinions  among  themselves.  For  some  thought  it  was 
reason,  they  should  somewhat  yield  to  the  poor  people's 
request,  and  that  they  should  a  little  qualify  the  severity 
of  the  law.  §15.  Other  held  hard  against  that  opinion, 
and  that  was  Martius  for  one.  For  he  alleged,  that  the 
creditors'  losing  their  money  they  had  lent  was  not  the 
worst  thing  that  was  thereby:  but  that  the  lenity  that 
was  favoured  was  a  beginning  of  disobedience,  and  that 
the  proud  attempt  of  the  communalty  was,  to  abolish  law, 
and  to  bring  all  to  confusion.  Therefore  he  said,  if  the 
Senate  were  wise,  they  should  betimes  prevent  and  quench 
this  ill-favoured  and  worse  meant  beginning.  §  16.  The 
Senate  met  many  days  in  consultation  about  it :  but  in  the 
end  they  concluded  nothing.  The  poor  common  people, 
seeing  no  redress,  gathered  themselves  one  day  together; 
and  one  encouraging  another,  they  all  forsook  the  city, 
and  encamped  themselves  upon  a  hill,  called  at  this  day 
the  Holy  Hill,  alongst  the  river  of  Tiber,  offering  no 
creature  any  hurt  or  violence,  or  making  any  shew  of 
actual  rebellion,  saving  that  they  cried  as  they  went  up 
and  down,  that  the  rich  men  had  driven  them  out  of  the 
city,  and  that  throughout  all  Italy  they  should  find  air, 
water,  and  ground  to  bury  them  in.  Moreover,  they 
said,  to  dwell  at  Rome  was  nothing  else  but  to  be  slain, 
or  hurt  with  continual  wars  and  fighting,  for  defence  of 
the  rich  men's  goods. 

§  17.  The  Senate,  being  afeard  of  their  departure,  did 
!  send  unto  them  certain  of  the  pleasantest  old  men,  and 
I  the  most  acceptable  to  the  people  among  them.    Of  those 
Menenius  Agrippa  was  he,  who  was  sent  for  chief  man  of 
;  the  message  from  the  Senate.     He,  after  many  good  per- 
I  suasions  and  gentle  requests  made  to  the  people,  on  the 
'  behalf  of  the  Senate,  knit  up  his  oration  in  the  end  with 
;a  notable  tale,  in  this  manner:  That  on  a  time  all  the 
members  of  man's  body  did  rebel  against  the  belly,  com- 
!  plaining  of  it,  that  it  only  remained  in  the  midst  of  the  body 
\  without  doing  any  things  neither  did  bear  any  labour  to  the 
i  x.  46-156.  \  maintenance  of  the  rest:  whereas  all  other  parts  and  mem- 
bers did  labour  painfully,  and  was  very  careful,  to  satisfy 
\  the  appetites  and  desires  of  the  body.     And  so  the  belly,  all 
;this  notwithstanding,  laughed  at  their  folly,  and  said:  It 
is  true,  I  first  receive  all  meats  that  nourish  man's  body: 
but  afterwards  I  send  it  again  to  the  nourishment  of  other 


APPENDIX  A. 


161 


parts  of  the  same.     Even  so  (quoth  he)  O  you,  my  masters,! 

and  citizens  of  Rome,  the  reason  is  alike  between  thej 

Senate  and  you.    For  matters  being  well  digested,  and  their] 

counsels  throughly  examitted,  touching  the  benefit  of  thel 

commonwealth,  the  Senators  are  cause  of  the  common  com-\ 

modify  that  cometh  unto  every  one  of  you.     §  1 8.  These 

persuasions  pacified  the  people  conditionally,  that  the 

Senate  would  grant  there  should  be  yearly  chosen  five? 

Magistrates,  which  they  now  call  Tribuni  plebis,  whose  \ 

office  should  be  to  defend  the  poor  people  from  violence  I . 

and  oppression.     So  Junius  Brutus  and  Sicinius  Vellutus  j  ** x*  ao9~a11* 

were  the  first  tribunes  of  the  people  that  were  chosen, 

who  had  only  been  the  causers  and  procurers  of  this 

sedition.     Hereupon,  the  city  being  grown  again  to  good 

quiet  and  unity,  the  people  immediately  went  to  the  wars, 

shewing  that  they  had  a  good  will  to  do  better  than  ever 

they  did,  and  to  be  very  willing  to  obey  the  Magistrates 

in  that  they  would  command  concerning  the  wars. 

§  19.  Martius  also,  though  it  liked  him  nothing  to  see 
the  greatness  of  the  people  thus  increased,  considering  it 
was  to  the  prejudice  and  imbasing  of  the  Nobility,  and 
also  saw  that  other  noble  Patricians  were  troubled  as 
well  as  himself:  he  did  persuade  the  Patricians,  to  shew 
themselves  no  less  forward  and  willing  to  fight  for  their 
country  than  the  common  people  were :  and  to  let  them 
know  by  their  deeds  and  acts,  that  they  did  not  so  much 
pass  the  people  in  power  and  riches,  as  they  did  exceed 
them  in  true  nobility  and  valiantness.  §  20.  In  the 
country  of  the  Volsces,  against  whom  the  Romans  made 
war  at  that  time,  there  was  a  principal  city  and  of  most 
fame,  that  was  called  Corioles,  before  the  which  the  Con- 
sul Cominius  did  lay  siege.  Wherefore  all  the  other 
Volsces,  fearing  lest  that  city  should  be  taken  by  assault, 
they  came  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  save  it,  in- 
tending to  give  the  Romans  battle  before  the  city,  and 
to  give  an  onset  on  them  in  two  several  places.  The  i  lt . 
Consul  Cominius  understanding  this,  divided  his  army) 
also  into  two  parts;  and  taking  the  one  part  with  him- 
self, he  marched  towards  them  that  were  drawing  to  the 
city  out  of  the  country :  and  the  other  part  of  his  army 
he  left  in  the  camp  with  Titus  Lartius  (one  of  the  valiant- 
est  men  the  Romans  had  at  that  time)  to  resist  those  that 
would  make  any  sally  out  of  the  city  upon  them.  §  21. 
So  the  Coriolans,  making  small  account  of  them  that  lay; 
in  camp  before  the  city,  made  a  sally  out  upon  them,  in 
the  which  at  the  first  the  Coriolans  had  the  better,  and ! 
drave  the  Romans  back  again  into  the  trenches  of  their 
camp.  But  Martius  being  there  at  that  time,  running 
out  of  the  camp  with  a  (ew  men  with  him,  he  slew  the 


1 62 


CORIOLANUS. 


Act  I.  Sc.  4- 


Act  I.  Sc.  5. 


first  enemies  he  met  withal,  and  made  the  rest  of  them 
stay  upon  a  sudden,  crying  out  to  the  Romans  that  had 
turned  their  backs,  and  calling  them  again  to  fight  with 
a  loud  voice.  For  he  was  even  such  another,  as  Cato 
would  have  a  soldier  and  a  captain  to  be,  not  only  terrible 
and  fierce  to  lay  about  him,  but  to  make  the  enemy  afeard 
with  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  grimness  of  his  countenance 
(i.  4.  56-60).  Then  there  flocked  about  him  immediately 
a  great  number  of  Romans :  whereat  the  enemies  were 
so  afeard,  that  they  gave  back  presently.  But  Martius, 
not  staying  so,  did  chase  and  follow  them  to  their  own 
gates,  that  fled  for  life.  And  there  perceiving  that  the 
Romans  retired  back,  for  the  great  number  of  darts  and 
arrows  which  flew  about  their  ears  from  the  walls  of  the 
city,  and  that  there  was  not  one  man  amongst  them  that 
durst  venture  himself  to  follow  the  flying  enemies  into 
the  city,  for  that  it  was  full  of  men  of  war  very  well  armed 
and  appointed,  he  did  encourage  his  fellows  with  words 
and  deeds,  crying  out  to  them,  that  fortune  had  opened 
the  gates  of  the  city,  more  for  the  followers  than  the  fliers. 
But  all  this  notwithstanding,  few  had  the  hearts  to  follow 
him.  §  22.  Howbeit  Martius,  being  in  the  throng  amongst 
the  enemies,  thrust  himself  into  the  gates  of  the  city,  and 
entered  the  same  among  them  that  fled,  without  that  any 
one  of  them  durst  at  the  first  turn  their  face  upon  him, 
or  else  offer  to  stay  him.  But  he,  looking  about  him, 
and  seeing  he  was  entered  the  city  with  very  few  men  to 
help  him,  and  perceiving  he  was  environed  by  his  enemies 
that  gathered  round  about  to  set  upon  him,  did  things  then, 
as  it  is  written,  wonderful  and  incredible,  as  well  for  the 
force  of  his  hand,  as  also  for  the  agility  of  his  body ;  and 
with  a  wonderful  courage  and  valiantness  he  made  a  lane 
through  the  midst  of  them,  and  overthrew  also  those  he 
laid  at:  that  some  he  made  run  to  the  furthest  part  of 
the  city,  and  other  for  fear  he  made  yield  themselves,  and 
to  let  fall  their  weapons  before  him.  By  this  means  Lar- 
tius,  that  was  gotten  out,  had  some  leisure  to  bring  the 
Romans  with  more  safety  into  the  city.  §  23.  The  city 
being  taken  in  this  sort,  the  most  part  of  the  soldiers 
began  incontinently  to  spoil,  to  carry  away,  and  to  look 
up  the  booty  they  had  won.  But  Martius  was  marvellous 
angry  with  them,  and  cried  out  on  them,  that  it  was  no 
time  now  to  look  after  spoil,  and  to  run  straggling  here 
and  there  to  enrich  themselves,  whilst  the  other  Consul 
and  their  fellow-citizens  peradventure  were  fighting  with 
their  enemies:  and  how  that,  leaving  the  spoil,  they  should 
seek  to  wind  themselves  out  of  danger  and  peril.  How- 
beit, cry  and  say  to  them  what  he  could,  very  few  of  them 
would  hearken  to  him.    §  24.  Wherefore  taking  those  that 


APPENDIX  A. 


163 


willingly  offered  themselves  to  follow  him,  he  went  out 
of  the  city,  and  took  his  way  towards  that  part  where  he 
understood  the  rest  of  the  army  was,  exhorting  and  en- 
treating them  by  the  way  that  followed  him,  not  to  be 
fainthearted ;  and  oft  holding  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  he 
besought  the  gods  to  be  so  gracious  and  favourable  unto 
him,  that  he  might  come  in  time  to  the  battle,  and  in 
good  hour  to  hazard  his  life  in  defence  of  his  countrymen. 
Now  the  Romans  when  they  were  put  in  battle  ray,  and 
ready  to  take  their  targets  on  their  arms,  and  to  gird 
them  upon  their  arming-coats,  had  a  custom  to  make 
their  wills  at  that  very  instant,  without  any  manner  of 
writing,  naming  him  only  whom  they  would  make  their 
heir  in  the  presence  of  three  or  four  witnesses.  Martius 
came  just  to  that  reckoning,  whilst  the  soldiers  were 
doing  after  that  sort,  and  that  the  enemies  were  approached 
so  near,  as  one  stood  in  view  of  the  other.  When  they 
saw  him  at  his  first  coming  all  bloody,  and  in  a  sweat, 
and  but  with  a  few  men  following  him,  some  thereupon 
began  to  be  afeard.  §  25.  But  soon  after,  when  they 
saw  him  run  with  a  lively  cheer  to  the  Consul,  and  to 
take  him  by  the  hand,  declaring  how  he  had  taken  the 
city  of  Corioles,  and  that  they  saw  the  Consul  Cominius 
also  kiss  and  embrace  him,  then  there  was  not  a  man  but  J 
took  heart  again  to  him,  and  began  to  be  of  a  good  I 
courage ;  some  hearing  him  report,  from  point  to  point,  j  a< 
the  happy  success  of  this  exploit,  and  other  also  conjectur- 
ing it  by  seeing  their  gestures  afar  off.  Then  they  all 
began  to  call  upon  the  Consul  to  march  forward,  and  to* 
delay  no  longer,  but  to  give  charge  upon  the  enemy. 
Martius  asked  him  how  the  order  of  their  enemy's  battle 
was,  and  on  which  side  they  had  placed  their  best  fight- 
ing men.  The  Consul  made  him  answer,  that  he  thought 
the  bands  which  were  in  the  vaward  of  their  battle  were 
those  of  the  Antiates,  whom  they  esteemed  to  be  the  war-  ( 
likest  men,  and  which,  for  valiant  courage,  would  gives 
no  place  to  any  of  the  host  of  their  enemies.  Then  prayed  j 
Martius  to  be  set  directly  against  them.  The  Consult 
granted  him,  greatly  praising  his  courage.  §  26.  Then 
Martius,  when  both  armies  came  almost  to  join,  advanced 
himself  a  good  space  before  his  company,  and  went  so 
fiercely  to  give  charge  on  the  vaward  that  came  right 
against  him,  that  they  could  stand  no  longer  in  his  hands : 
he  made  such  a  lane  through  them,  and  opened  a  passage 
into  the  battle  of  the  enemies.  But  the  two  wings  of 
either  side  turned  one  to  the  other,  to  compass  him  in 
between  them:  which  the  Consul  Cominius  perceiving, 
he  sent  thither  straight  of  the  best  soldiers  he  had  about 
him.     So  the  battle  was  marvellous  bloody  about  Mar- 


164 


CORIOLANUS. 


tius,  and  in  a  very  short  space  many  were  slain  in  the 
place.  But  in  the  end  the  Romans  were  so  strong,  that 
they  distressed  the  enemies,  and  brake  their  array:  and 
scattering  them,  made  them  fly.  Then  they  prayed  Mar- 
tius  that  he  would  retire  to  the  camp,  because  they  saw 
he  was  able  to  do  no  more,  he  was  already  so  wearied 
with  the  great  pain  he  had  taken,  and  so  faint  with  the 
great  wounds  he  had  upon  him.  But  Martius  answered 
them,  that  it  was  not  for  conquerors  to  yield,  nor  to  be 
fainthearted :  and  thereupon  began  afresh  to  chase  those 
that  fled,  until  such  time  as  the  army  of  the  enemies  was 
utterly  overthrown,  and  numbers  of  them  slain  and  taken 
prisoners. 

§  27.  The  next  morning  betimes,  Martius  went  to  the 
Consul,  and  the  other  Romans  with  him.  There  the 
Consul  Cominius  going  up  to  his  chair  of  state,  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  army,  gave  thanks  to  the  gods  for 
so  great,  glorious,  and  prosperous  a  victory :  then  he  spake 
to  Martius,  whose  valiantness  he  commended  beyond  the 
moon,  both  for  that  he  himself  saw  him  do  with  his  eyes, 
as  also  for  that  Martius  had  reported  unto  him.  So  in 
the  end  he  willed  Martius,  that  he  should  choose  out  of 
all  the  horses  they  had  taken  of  their  enemies,  and  of  all 
the  goods  they  had  won  (whereof  there  was  great  store) 
ten  of  every  sort  which  he  liked  best,  before  any  distri- 
bution should  be  made  to  other.  Besides  this  great 
honourable  offer  he  had  made  him,  he  gave  him,  in  testi- 
mony that  he  had  won  that  day  the  price  of  prowess 
above  all  other,  a  goodly  horse  with  a  caparison,  and  all 
furniture  to  him  (i.  4.  1-7;  i.  9.  12):  which  the  whole 
army  beholding,  did  marvellously  praise  and  commend. 
§  28.  But  Martius,  stepping  forth,  told  the  Consul  he 
most  thankfully  accepted  the  gift  of  his  horse,  and  was 
a  glad  man  besides,  that  his  service  had  deserved  his 
General's  commendation :  and  as  for  his  other  offer,  which 
was  rather  a  mercenary  reward  than  an  honourable  re- 
compence,  he  would  have  none  of  it,  but  was  contented 
to  have  his  equal  part  with  other  soldiers.  "Only,  tins 
grace  (said  he)  I  crave  and  beseech  you  to  grant  me. 
I  Among  the  Volsces  there  is  an  old  friend  and  host  of 
>mine,  an  honest  wealthy  man,  and  now  a  prisoner;  who, 
Act  I.  Sc.9.  j  iiving  before  in  great  wealth  in  his  own  country,  liveth 
.now  a  poor  prisoner,  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies:  and 
yet  notwithstanding  all  this  his  misery  and  misfortune,  it 
I  would  do  me  great  pleasure  if  I  could  save  him  from  this 
one  danger,  to  keep  him  from  being  sold  as  a  slave." 

29.  The  soldiers  hearing  Martius'  words,  made  a  mar- 
vellous great  shout  among  them,  and  they  were  more 
I  that  wondered  at  his  great  contentation  and  abstinence, 


APPENDIX  A. 


165 


when  they  saw  so  little  covetousness  in  him,  than  they 
were  that  highly  praised  and  extolled  his  valiantness. 
For  even  they  themselves  that  did  somewhat  malice  and 
envy  his  glory,  to  see  him  thus  honoured  and  passingly 
praised,  did  think  him  so  much  the  more  worthy  of  an 
honourable  recompence  for  his  valiant  service,  as  the 
more  carelessly  he  refused  the  great  offer  made  him  for 
his  profit ;  and  they  esteemed  more  the  virtue  that  was  in 
him,  that  made  him  refuse  such  rewards,  than  that  which 
made  them  to  be  offered  to  him,  as  unto  a  worthy  per- 
son. For  it  is  far  more  commendable,  to  use  riches  well, 
than  to  be  valiant :  and  yet  it  is  better  not  to  desire  them 
than  to  use  them  well. 

§  30.  After  this  shout  and  noise  of  the  assembly  was 
somewhat  appeased,  the  Consul  Cominius  began  to  speak 
in  this  sort:  We  cannot  compel  Martius  to  take  these 
gifts  we  offer  him  if  he  will  not  receive  them,  but  we  will 
give  him  such  a  reward  for  the  noble  service  he  hath 
done,  as  he  cannot  refuse.  Therefore  we  do  order  and 
decree,  that  henceforth  he  be  called  Coriolanus,  unless 
his  valiant  acts  have  won  him  that  name  before  our  nomi- 
nation. And  so  ever  since,  he  still  bare  the  third  name 
of  Coriolanus.  §  31.  And  thereby  it  appeareth,  that  the 
first  name  the  Romans  have,  as  Caius,  was  our  Christian 
name  now.  The  second,  as  Martius,  was  the  name  of 
the  house  and  family  they  came  of.  The  third  was  some 
addition  given,  either  for  some  act  or  notable  service,  or 
for  some  mark  on  their  face,  or  of  some  shape  of  their 
body,  or  else  for  some  special  virtue  they  had.  Even  so 
did  the  Grecians  in  old  time  give  additions  to  princes,  by 
reason  of  some  notable  act  worthy  memory.  As  when 
they  have  called  some  Soter  and  Callinicos,  as  much  to 
say  as  saviour  and  conqueror.  Or  else  of  some  notable 
apparent  mark  on  one's  face,  or  on  his  body,  they  have 
called  him  Phiscon  and  Grypos :  as  ye  would  say,  gore- 
belly,  and  hook-nosed ;  or  else  for  some  virtue,  as  Euer- 
getes  and  Philadelphos,  to  wit,  a  benefactor,  and  lover 
of  his  brethren.  Or  otherwise  for  one's  great  felicity,  as 
Eudsemon :  as  much  to  say  as  fortunate.  For  so  was  the 
second  of  the  Battes1  surnamed.  And  some  kings  have 
had  surnames  of  jest  and  mockery.  As  one  of  the  Anti- 
gones  that  was  called  Doson,  to  say,  the  Giver :  who  was 
ever  promising,  and  never  giving.  And  one  of  the  Ptolo- 
mees  was  called  Lamyros :  to  say,  conceitive.  The  Ro- 
mans use,  more  than  any  other  nation,  to  give  names  of 
mockery  in  this  sort.  As,  there  was  one  Metellus,  sur- 
named Diadematus,  the  banded,  because  he  carried  a 
band  about  his  head  of  long  time,  by  reason  of  a  sore  he 
1  These  were  the  princes  that  built  the  city  of  Cyrene. 


166  CORIOLANUS. 

had  in  his  forehead.  One  other  of  his  own  family  was 
called  Celer,  the  quick-fly,  because  a  few  days  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  he  shewed  the  people  the  cruel  fight 
of  fencers  at  unrebated  swords,  which  they  found  wonder- 
ful for  the  shortness  of  time.  Other  had  their  surnames 
derived  of  some  accident  of  their  birth.  As  to  this  day 
they  call  him  Proculeius,  that  is  born,  his  father  being  in 
some  far  voyage:  and  him  Posthumius,  that  is  born  after 
the  death  of  his  father.  And  when  of  two  brethren  twins, 
the  one  doth  die,  and  the  other  surviveth,  they  call  the 
survivor  Vopiscus.  Sometimes  also  they  give  surnames 
derived  of  some  mark  or  misfortune  of  the  body :  as  Sylla, 
to  say,  crook-nosed :  Niger,  black :  Rufus,  red  :  Caecus, 
blind :  Claudus,  lame.  They  did  wisely  in  this  thing  to 
accustom  men  to  think,  that  neither  the  loss  of  their  sight, 
nor  other  such  misfortunes  as  may  chance  to  men,  are  any 
shame  or  disgrace  unto  them ;  but  the  manner  was  to 
answer  boldly  to  such  names,  as  if  they  were  called  by 
their  proper  names.  Howbeit  these  matters  would  be 
,  better  amplified  in  other  stories  than  this. 

§  32.  Now  when  this  war  was  ended,  the  flatterers  of 
I  the  people  began  to  stir  up  sedition  again,  without  any 
new  occasion,  or  just  matter  offered  of  complaint.  For 
they  did  ground  this  second  insurrection  against  the  No- 
bility and  Patricians  upon  the  people's  misery  and  mis- 
fortune, that  could  not  but  fall  out,  by  reason  of  the 
former  discord  and  sedition  between  them  and  the  No- 
bility. Because  the  most  part  of  the  arable  land,  within 
I  the  territory  of  Rome,  was  become  heathy  and  barren  for 
;lack  of  ploughing,  for  that  they  had  no  time  nor  mean  to 
;  cause  corn  to  be  brought  them  out  of  other  countries  to 
'sow,  by  reason  of  their  wars;  which  made  the  extreme 
!  dearth  they  had  among  them.  Now  those  busy  prattlers 
!  that  sought  the  people's  good- will  by  such  flattering  words, 
perceiving  great  scarcity  of  corn  to  be  within  the  city: 
;and  though  there  had  been  plenty  enough,  yet  the  com- 
!  mon  people  had  no  money  to  buy  it :  they  spread  abroad 
!  false  tales  and  rumours  against  the  Nobility,  that  they, 
;in  revenge  of  the  people,  had  practised  and  procured 
the  extreme  dearth  among  them.  §  33.  Furthermore,  in 
the  midst  of  this  stir,  there  came  ambassadors  to  Rome 
from  the  city  of  Velitres,  that  offered  up  their  city  to  the 
Romans,  and  prayed  them  they  would  send  new  inhabit- 
ants to  replenish  the  same :  because  the  plague  had  been 
so  extreme  among  them,  and  had  killed  such  a  number 
of  them,  as  there  was  not  left  alive  the  tenth  person  of 
the  people  that  had  been  there  before.  So  the  wise  men 
of  Rome  began  to  think,  that  the  necessity  of  the  Velitri- 
ans  fell  out  in  a  most  happy  hour;  and  how,  by  this 


L  1. 1-220. 


APPENDIX  A.  167 

occasion,  it  was  very  meet,  in  so  great  a  scarcity  of  victuals, 
to  disburden  Rome  of  a  great  number  of  citizens:  and 
by  this  means  as  well  to  take  away  this  new  sedition,  and 
utterly  to  rid  it  out  of  the  city,  as  also  to  clear  the  same 
of  many  mutinous  and  seditious  persons,  being  the  super- 
fluous ill  humours  that  grievously  fed  this  disease.  Here- 
upon the  Consuls  pricked  out  all  those  by  a  bill,  whom 
they  intended  to  send  to  Velitres,  to  go  dwell  there  as  in 
form  of  a  colony :  and  they  levied  out  of  all  the  rest  that 
remained  in  the  city  of  Rome,  a  great  number  to  go 
against  the  Volsces,  hoping,  by  the  means  of  foreign  war, 
to  pacify  their  sedition  at  home.  Moreover  they  im- 
agined, when  the  poor  with  the  rich,  and  the  mean  sort 
with  the  Nobility,  should  by  this  device  be  abroad  in  the 
wars,  and  in  one  camp,  and  in  one  service,  and  in  one 
like  'danger :  that  then  they  would  be  more  quiet  and 
loving  together.  §  34.  But  Sicinius  and  Brutus,  two 
seditious  Tribunes,  spake  against  either  of  these  devices, 
and  cried  out  upon  the  noble  men,  that  under  the  gentle 
name  of  a  Colony,  they  would  cloak  and  colour  the  most 
cruel  and  unnatural  fact  as  might  be :  because  they  sent 
their  poor  citizens  into  a  sore  infected  city  and  pestilent 
air,  full  of  dead  bodies  unburied,  and  there  also  to  dwell 
under  the  tuition  of  a  strange  god,  that  had  so  cruelly 
persecuted  his  people.  This  were  (said  they)  even  as 
much,  as  if  the  Senate  should  headlong  cast  down  the 
people  into  a  most  bottomless  pit ;  and  are  not  yet  con- 
tented to  have  famished  some  of  the  poor  citizens  hereto- 
fore to  death,  and  to  put  other  of  them  even  to  the  mercy 
of  the  plague :  but  afresh  they  have  procured  a  voluntary 
war,  to  the  end  they  would  leave  behind  no  kind  of 
misery  and  ill,  wherewith  the  poor  silly  people  should  not 
be  plagued,  and  only  because  they  are  weary  to  serve 
the  rich.  The  common  people,  being  set  on  a  broil  and 
bravery  with  these  words,  would  not  appear  when  the 
Consuls  called  their  names  by  a  bill,  to  prest  them  for  the 
wars,  neither  would  they  be  sent  out  to  this  new  colony : 
insomuch  as  the  Senate  knew  not  well  what  to  say  or  to 
do  in  the  matter. 

§  35.  Martius  then,  who  was  now  grown  to  great 
credit,  and  a  stout  man  besides,  and  of  great  reputation 
with  the  noblest  men  of  Rome,  rose  up,  and  openly  spake 
against  these  flattering  Tribunes.  And  for  the  replenish- 
ing of  the  city  of  Velitres,  he  did  compel  those  that  were 
chosen,  to  go  thither  and  to  depart  the  city,  upon  great 
penalties  to  him  that  should  disobey:  but  to  the  wars 
the  people  by  no  means  would  be  brought  or  constrained. 
So  Martius,  taking  his  friends  and  followers  with  him, 
and  such  as  he  could  by  fair  words  intreat  to  go  with 


168  CORIOLANUS. 

him,  did  run  certain   forays  into  the  dominion  of  the 
Antiates,  where  he  met  with  great  plenty  of  corn,  and 
had  a  marvellous  great  spoil,  as  well  of  cattle  as  of  men 
he  had  taken  prisoners,  whom  he  brought  away  with 
him,   and   reserved   nothing   for   himself.     Afterwards, 
having  brought  back  again  all  his  men  that  went  out 
with  him,  safe  and  sound  to  Rome,  and  every  man  rich 
and  loaden  with  spoil :  then  the  home-tarriers  and  house- 
doves  that  kept  Rome  still,  began  to  repent  them  that  it 
was  not  their  hap  to  go  with  him,  and  so  envied  both 
them  that  had  sped  so  well  in  this  journey ;  and  also,  of 
malice  to  Martius,   they  spited   to  see  his  credit  and 
estimation  increase  still  more  and  more,  because  they 
accounted  him  to  be  a  great  hinderer  of  the  people. 
;'§  36.  Shortly  after  this,  Martius  stood  for  the  Consulship 
(ii.  1.  185,  206,  245):  and  the  common  people  favoured 
Act  II  Sc     \        su^'  tnm^mS  it  would  be  a  shame  to  them  to  deny 
'    <  and  refuse  the  chiefest  noble  man  of  blood,  and  most 
worthy  person  of  Rome,  and  especially  him  that  had 
done  so  great  service  and  good  to  the  commonwealth. 
§  37.   For  the  custom  of  Rome  was  at  that  time,  that 
!  such  as  did  sue  for  any  office,  should  for  certain  days 
j  before  be  in  the  market-place,  only  with  a  poor  gown  on 
;  their  backs,  and  without  any  coat  underneath,  to  pray 
;  the  citizens  to  remember  them  at  the  day  of  election: 
j  which  was  thus  devised,  either  to  move  the  people  the 
u.a.i3o-i5o.Smorej  by  requesting  them  in  such  mean  apparel,  or  else 
because  they  might  shew  them  their  wounds  they  had 
;  gotten  in  the  wars  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth, 
:as  manifest  marks  and  testimonies  of  their  valiantness. 
§  38.    Now  it  is  not  to  be  thought  that  the  suitors  went 
thus  loose  in  a  simple  gown  in  the  market-place,  without 
any  coat  under  it,  for  fear  and  suspicion  of  the  common 
people :  for  offices  of  dignity  in  the  city  were  not  then 
given  by  favour  or  corruption.     It  was  but  of  late  time, 
and  long  after  this,  that  buying  and  selling  fell  out  in 
election  of  officers,  and  that  the  voices  of  the  electors 
were  bought  for  money.     But  after  corruption  had  once 
gotten  way  into  the  election  of  offices,  it  hath  run  from 
man  to  man,  even  to  the  very  sentence  of  judges,  and 
also  among  captains  in  the  wars :  so  as  in  the  end,  that 
only  turned  commonwealths  into  kingdoms,  by  making 
arms  subject  to  money.     Therefore  me  thinks  he  had 
reason  that  said :  "  He  that  first  made  banquets  and  gave 
money  to  the  common  people,  was  the  first  that  took 
away  authority,  and  destroyed  commonwealth  ".      But 
this  pestilence  crept  in  by  little  and  little,  and  did  secretly 
win  ground  still,  continuing  a  long  time  in  Rome,  before 
it  was  openly  known  and  discovered.     For  no  man  can 


APPENDIX   A. 


169 


tell  who  was  the  first  man  that  bought  the  people's  voices 
for  money,  nor  that  corrupted  the  sentence  of  the  Judges. 
Howbeit  at  Athens  some  hold  opinion,  that  Anytus,  the 
son  of  Anthemion,  was  the  first  that  fed  the  judges  with 
money,  about  the  end  of  the  wars  of  Peloponnesus,  being 
accused  of  treason  for  yielding  up  the  fort  of  Pyle  at  that 
time,  when  the  golden  and  unfoiled  age  remained  yet 
whole  in  judgment  at  Rome.  §  39.  Now  Martius,  fol- 
lowing this  custom,  shewed  many  wounds  and  cuts  upon 
his  body,  which  he  had  received  in  seventeen  years'  ser- 
vice at  the  wars,  and  in  many  sundry  battles,  being  ever 
the  foremost  man  that  did  set  out  feet  to  fight.  So  that 
there  was  not  a  man  among  the  people  but  was  ashamed 
of  himself,  to  refuse  so  valiant  a  man :  and  one  of  them 
said  to  another,  "  We  must  needs  choose  him  Consul, 
there  is  no  remedy".  §  40.  But  when  the  day  of  election 
was  come,  and  that  Martius  came  to  the  market-place 
with  great  pomp,  accompanied  with  all  the  Senate  and 
the  whole  Nobility  of  the  city  about  him,  who  sought  to 
make  him  Consul  with  the  greatest  instance  and  entreaty 
they  could,  or  ever  attempted  for  any  man  or  matter: 
then  the  love  and  goodwill  of  the  common  people  turned 
straight  to  an  hate  and  envy  toward  him,  fearing  to  put 
this  office  of  sovereign  authority  into  his  hands,  being  a 
man  somewhat  partial  toward  the  Nobility,  and  of  great 
credit  and  authority  amongst  the  Patricians,  and  as  one 
they  might  doubt  would  take  away  altogether  the  liberty 
from  the  people.  Whereupon,  for  these  considerations, 
they  refused  Martius  in  the  end,  and  made  two  other 
that  were  suitors,  Consuls.  §  41.  The  Senate,  being 
marvellously  offended  with  the  people,  did  account  the 
shame  of  this  refusal  rather  to  redound  to  themselves 
than  to  Martius :  but  Martius  took  it  in  far  worse  part 
than  the  Senate,  and  was  out  of  all  patience.  §  42.  For 
he  was  a  man  too  full  of  passion  and  choler,  and  too 
much  given  to  over  self-will  and  opinion,  as  one  of  a 
high  mind  and  great  courage,  that  lacked  the  gravity  and 
affability  that  is  gotten  with  judgment  of  learning  and 
reason,  which  only  is  to  be  looked  for  in  a  governor  of 
State:  and  that  remembered  not  how  wilfulness  is  the 
thing  of  the  world,  which  a  governor  of  a  commonwealth, 
for  pleasing,  should  shun,  being  that  which  Plato  called 
'solitariness';  as  in  the  end,  all  men  that  are  wilfully 
given  to  a  self-opinion  and  obstinate  mind,  and  who  will 
never  yield  to  other's  reason  but  to  their  own,  remain 
without  company,  and  forsaken  of  all  men.  For  a  man 
that  will  live  in  the  world  must  needs  have  patience, 
which  lusty  bloods  make  but  a  mock  at.  §  43.  So 
Martius,  being  a  stout  man  of  nature,  that  never  yielded 


Act  II.  Sc.  3. 


Actlll.Sci. 


170 


CORIOLANUS. 


43-172 


in  any  respect,  as  one  thinking  that  to  overcome  always 
and  to  have  the  upper  hand  in  all  matters,  was  a  token 
of  magnanimity  and  of  no  base  and  faint  courage,  which 
spitteth  out  anger  from  the  most  weak  and  passioned 
part  of  the  heart,  much  like  the  matter  of  an  impostume: 
went  home  to  his  house,  full  freighted  with  spite  and 
malice  against  the  people,  being  accompanied  with  all 
the  lustiest  young  gentlemen,  whose  minds  were  nobly 
bent,  as  those  that  came  of  noble  race,  and  commonly 
used  for  to  follow  and  honour  him.  But  then  specially 
tiiey  flocked  about  him,  and  kept  him  company  to  his 
much  harm,  for  they  did  but  kindle  and  inflame  his 
choler  more  and  more,  being  sorry  with  him  for  the 
injury  the  people  offered  him  :  because  he  was  their  cap- 
tain and  leader  to  the  wars,  that  taught  them  all  martial 
discipline,  and  stirred  up  in  them  a  noble  emulation  of 
honour  and  valiantness,  and  yet,  without  envy,  praising 
them  that  deserved  best. 

§  44.  In  the  mean  season  there  came  great  plenty  of 
corn  to  Rome,  that  had  been  bought,  part  in  Italy,  and 
part  was  sent  out  of  Sicily,  as  given  by  Gelon  the  tyrant 
of  Syracusa:  so  that  many  stood  in  great  hope,  that  the 
dearth  of  victuals  being  holpen,  the  civil  dissension  would 
also  cease.  The  Senate  sat  in  council  upon  it  imme- 
;  diately  ;  the  common  people  stood  also  about  the  palace 
where  the  council  was  kept,  gaping  what  resolution 
would  fall  out :  persuading  themselves  that  the  corn  they 
had  bought  should  be  sold  good  cheap,  and  that  which 
was  given  should  be  divided  by  the  poll,  without  paying 
any  penny ;  and  the  rather,  because  certain  of  the  Sena- 
tors amongst  them  did  so  wish  and  persuade  the  same. 
§  45.  But  Martius,  standing  up  on  his  feet,  did  some- 
\  what  sharply  take  up  those  who  went  about  to  gratify 
the  people  therein :  and  called  them  people-pleasers,  and 
traitors  to  the  Nobility.  "Moreover,"  he  said,  "they 
nourished  against  themselves  the  naughty  seed  and  cockle 
of  insolency  and  sedition,  which  had  been  sowed  and 
scattered  abroad  amongst  the  people,  whom  they  should 
have  cut  off,  if  they  had  been  wise,  and  have  prevented 
their  greatness:  and  not  (to  their  own  destruction)  to 
have  suffered  the  people  to  stablish  a  magistrate  for 
themselves,  of  so  great  power  and  authority  as  that  man 
had  to  whom  they  had  granted  it.  Who  was  also  to  be 
feared,  because  he  obtained  what  he  would,  and  did 
nothing  but  what  he  listed,  neither  passed  for  any 
obedience  to  the  Consuls,  but  lived  in  all  liberty;  ac- 
knowledging no  superior  to  command  him,  saving  the 
only  heads  and  authors  of  their  faction,  whom  he  called 
his  magistrates.     Therefore,"  said  he,  "they  that  gave 


APPENDIX  A. 


171 


counsel  and  persuaded,  that  the  corn  should  be  given  out 
to  the  common  people  gratis,  as  they  used  to  do  in  the 
cities  of  Greece,  where  the  people  had  more  absolute  power, 
did  but  only  nourish  their  disobedience,  which  would  | 
break  out  in  the  end,  to  the  utter  ruin  and  overthrow  of 
the  whole  state.  §  46.  For  they  will  not  think  it  is  done 
in  recompence  of  their  service  past,  sithence  they  know 
well  enough  they  have  so  oft  refused  to  go  to  the  wars 
when  they  were  commanded :  neither  for  their  mutinies 
when  they  went  with  us,  whereby  they  have  rebelled 
and  forsaken  their  country:  neither  for  their  accusations 
which  their  flatterers  have  preferred  unto  them,  and  they 
have  received,  and  made  good  against  the  Senate :  but 
they  will  rather  judge,  we  give  and  grant  them  this  as 
abasing  ourselves,  and  standing  in  fear  of  them,  and 
glad  to  flatter  them  every  way.  By  this  means  their 
disobedience  will  still  grow  worse  and  worse :  and  they 
will  never  leave  to  practise  new  sedition  and  uproars. 
Therefore  it  were  a  great  folly  for  us,  methinks,  to  do  it: 
yea,  shall  I  say  more?  we  should,  if  we  were  wise,  take 
from  them  their  Tribuneship,  which  most  manifestly  is  the 
embasing  of  the  Consulship,  and  the  cause  of  the  divi- 
sion of  the  city.  The  state  whereof,  as  it  standeth,  is 
not  now  as  it  was  wont  to  be,  but  becometh  dismem- 
bered in  two  factions,  which  maintains  always  civil 
dissension  and  discord  between  us,  and  will  never  suffer 
us  again  to  be  united  into  one  body."  §  47.  Martius 
dilating  the  matter  with  many  such  like  reasons,  won  all 
the  young  men,  and  almost  all  the  rich  men  to  his 
opinion :  insomuch  as  they  rang  it  out,  that  he  was  the 
only  man,  and  alone  in  the  city,  who  stood  out  against 
the  people,  and  never  flattered  them.  There  were  only 
a  few  old  men  that  spake  against  him,  fearing  lest  some 
mischief  might  fall  out  upon  it,  as  indeed  there  followed 
no  great  good  afterward.  §  48.  For  the  Tribunes  of  the 
people,  being  present  at  this  consultation  of  the  Senate, 
when  they  saw  that  the  opinion  of  Martius  was  confirmed 
with  the  more  voices,  they  left  the  Senate,  and  went 
down  to  the  people,  crying  out  for  help,  and  that  they 
would  assemble  to  save  their  Tribunes.  Hereupon  the 
people  ran  on  head  in  tumult  together,  before  whom  the 
words  that  Martius  spake  in  the  Senate  were  openly 
reported :  which  the  people  so  stomached,  that  even  in 
that  fury  they  were  ready  to  fly  upon  the  whole  Senate. 
§  49.  But  the  Tribunes  laid  all  the  fault  and  burthen 
wholly  upon  Martius,  and  sent  their  sergeants  forthwith 
to  arrest  him,  presently  to  appear  in  person  before  the 
people,  to  answer  the  words  he  had  spoken  in  the  Sen- 
ate.    Martius  stoutly  withstood  these  officers  that  came 


m.  1. 173-254. 


172 


CORIOLANUS. 


iii.1.255-336. 


to  arrest  him.  Then  the  Tribunes  in  their  own  persons, 
accompanied  with  the  yEdiles,  went  to  fetch  him  by 
force,  and  so  laid  violent  hands  upon  him.  Howbeit 
the  noble  Patricians  gathering  together  about  him,  made 
the  Tribunes  give  back,  and  laid  it  sore  upon  the  vEdiles: 
so  for  that  time  the  night  parted  them,  and  the  tumult 
appeased.  §  50.  The  next  morning  betimes,  the  Consuls 
seeing  the  people  in  an  uproar,  running  to  the  market- 
place out  of  all  parts  of  the  city,  they  were  afraid  lest 
all  the  city  would  together  by  the  ears :  wherefore  as- 
sembling the  Senate  in  all  haste,  they  declared  how  it 
stood  them  upon,  to  appease  the  fury  of  the  people  with 
some  gentle  words  or  grateful  decrees  in  their  favour: 
and  moreover,  like  wise  men  they  should  consider,  it 
was  now  no  time  to  stand  at  defence  and  in  contention, 
nor  yet  to  fight  for  honour  against  the  commonalty,  they 
being  fallen  to  so  great  an  extremity,  and  offering  such 

:  imminent  danger.      Wherefore  they   were   to   consider 

:  temperately  of  things,  and  to  deliver  some  present  and 
gentle  pacification.  The  most  part  of  the  Senators  that 
were  present  at  this  council,  thought  this  opinion  best, 

;  and  gave  their  consents  unto  it.  §  51.  Whereupon  the 
Consuls  rising  out  of  council,  went  to  speak  unto  «the 
people  as  gently  as  they  could,  and  they  did  pacify  their 
fury  and  anger,  purging  the  Senate  of  all  the  unjust 

!  accusations  laid  upon  them,  and  used  great  modesty  in 
persuading  them,  and  also  in  reproving  the  faults  they 
had  committed.  And  as  for  the  rest,  that  touched  the 
sale  of  corn,  they  promised  there  should  be  no  disliking 
offered  them  in  the  price.  §  52.  So  the  most  part  of  the 
people  being  pacified,  and  appearing  so  plainly-  by  the 
great  silence  and  still  that  was  among  them,  as  yielding 

\  to  the  Consuls  and  liking  well  of  their  words :  the  Tri- 
bunes then  of  the  people  rose  out  of  their  seats,  and 
said:  "Forasmuch  as  the  Senate  yielded  unto  reason, 
the  people  also  for  their  part,  as  became  them,  did  like- 
wise give  place  unto  them :  but  notwithstanding,  they 
would  that  Martius  should  come  in  person  to  answer  to 
the  articles  they  had  devised.  First,  whether  he  had 
not  solicited  and  procured  the  Senate  to  change  the 
present  state  of  the  commonweal,  and  to  take  the  sove- 
reign authority  out  of  the  people's  hands.  Next,  when 
he  was  sent  for  by  authority  of  their  officers,  why  he  did 
contemptuously  resist  and  disobey?  Lastly,  seeing  he 
had  driven  and  beaten  the  ^diles  into  the  market-place 
before  all  the  world :  if,  in  doing  this,  he  had  not  .done 
as  much  as  in  him  lay,  to  raise  civil  wars,  and  to  set  one 
citizen  against  another?  §  53.  All  this  was  spoken  to 
one  of  these  two  ends,  either  that  Martius,  against  his 


APPENDIX  A. 


173 


nature,  should  be  constrained  to  humble  himself  and  to 
abase  his  haughty  and  fierce  mind  :  or  else,  if  he  con- 
tinued still  in  his  stoutness,  he  should  incur  the  people's 
displeasure  and  ill-will  so  far,  that  he  should  never 
possibly  win  them  again.  Which  they  hoped  would 
rather  fall  out  so,  than  otherwise ;  as  indeed  they  guessed 
unhappily,  considering  Martius'  nature  and  disposition. 

§  54.  So  Martius  came  and  presented  himself  to  answer 
their  accusations  against  him,  and  the  people  held  their 
peace,  and  gave  attentive  ear,  to  hear  what  he  would  say. 
But  where  they  thought  to  have  heard  very  humble  and 
lowly  words  come  from  him,  he  began  not  only  to  use 
his  wonted  boldness  of  speaking  (which  of  itself  was  very 
rough  and  unpleasant,  and  did  more  aggravate  his  accu- 
sation, than  purge  his  innocency )  but  also  gave  himself  in 
his  words  to  thunder,  and  look  therewithal  so  grimly,  as 
though  he  made  no  reckoning  of  the  matter.  This  stirred 
coals  among  the  people,  who  were  in  wonderful  fury  at 
it,  and  their  hate  and  malice  grew  so  toward  him,  that 
they  could  hold  no  longer,  bear,  nor  endure  his  bravery 
and  careless  boldness.  §  55.  Whereupon  Sicinius,  the 
cruellest  and  stoutest  of  the  Tribunes,  after  he  had  whis- 
pered a  little  with  his  companions,  did  openly  pronounce, ; 
in  the  face  of  all  the  people,  Martius  as  condemned  by: 
the  Tribunes  to  die.  Then  presently  he  commanded/ 
the  yEdiles  to  apprehend  him,  and  carry  him  straight  to 
the  rock  Tarpeian,  and  to  cast  him  headlong  down  the; 
same.  §  56.  When  the  iEdiles  came  to  lay  hands  uponj... 
Martius  to  do  that  they  were  commanded,  divers  of  thej111-1-20^"*2* 
people  themselves  thought  it  too  cruel  and  violent  a  deed. 
The  noblemen,  being  much  troubled  to  see  so  much  force 
and  rigour  used,  began  to  cry  aloud  *  help  Martius ' :  so 
those  that  laid  hands  of  him  being  repulsed,  they  com- 
passed him  in  round  among  themselves,  and  some  of  them, 
holding  up  their  hands  to  the  people,  besought  them 
not  to  handle  him  thus  cruelly.  §  57.  But  neither  their 
words  nor  crying  out  could  aught  prevail,  the  tumult  and 
hurly burly  was  so  great,  until  such  time  as  the  Tribunes' 
own  friends  and  kinsmen,  weighing  with  themselves  the 
iinpossibleness  to  convey  Martius  to  execution  without 
great  slaughter  and  murder  of  the  nobility,  did  persuade 
and  advise  not  to  proceed  in  so  violent  and  extraordinary 
a  sort,  as  to  put  such  a  man  to  death  without  lawful 
process  in  law,  but  that  they  should  refer  the  sentence  of^ 
his  death  to  the  free  voice  of  the  people.  §  58.  Then  Sicin- 
ius, bethinking  himself  a  little,  did  ask  the  Patricians,  for 
what  cause  they  took  Martius  out  of  the  officers'  hands 
that  went  to  do  execution?  The  Patricians  asked  him 
again,   why  they  would  of  themselves  so  cruelly  and 


174  CORIOLANUS. 

wickedly  put  to  death  so  noble  and  valiant  a  Roman  as 
Martius  was,  and  that  without  law  or  justice?  u  Well 
then,"  said  Sicinius,  "  if  that  be  the  matter,  let  there  be 
> no  °iuarrel  or  dissension  against  the  people :  for  they  do 
35'}  grant  your  demand,  that  his  cause  shall  be  heard  accord- 
ing to  the  law.  Therefore,"  said  he  to  Martius,  "we 
do  will  and  charge  you  to  appear  before  the  people,  the 
;  third  day  of  our  next  sitting  and  assembly  here,  to  make 
lyour  purgation  for  such  articles  as  shall  be  objected 
;  against  you,  that  by  free  voice  the  people  may  give  sen- 
tence upon  you  as  shall  please  them.  The  noblemen 
were  glad  then  of  the  adjournment,  and  were  much 
pleased  they  had  gotten  Martius  out  of  this  danger.  §  59. 
In  the  mean  space  before  the  third  day  of  their  next 
session  came  about,  the  same  being  kept  every  ninth  day 
continually  at  Rome,  whereupon  they  call  it  now  in 
Latin  Nundince :  there  fell  out  war  against  the  Antiates, 
which  gave  some  hope  to  the  nobility  that  this  adjourn- 
ment would  come  to  little  effect,  thinking  that  this  war 
would  hold  them  so  long,  as  that  the  fury  of  the  people 
against  him  would  be  well  suaged,  or  utterly  forgotten, 
by  reason  of  the  trouble  of  the  wars.  But  contrary  to 
expectation,  the  peace  was  concluded  presently  with  the 
Antiates,  and  the  people  returned  again  to  Rome.  §  6a 
Then  the  Patricians  assembled  oftentimes  together,  to 
consult  how  they  might  stand  to  Martius,  and  keep  the 
Tribunes  from  occasion  to  cause  the  people  to  mutine 
again,  and  rise  against  the  Nobility.  And  there  Appius 
Claudius  (one  that  was  taken  ever  as  an  heavy  enemy  to 
the  people)  did  avow  and  protest,  that  they  would  utterly 
abase  the  authority  of  the  Senate,  and  destroy  the  com- 
monweal, if  they  would  suffer  the  common  people  to 
have  authority  by  voices  to  give  judgment  against  the 
Nobility.  On  the  other  side  again,  the  most  ancient 
Senators,  and  such  as  were  given  to  favour  the  common 
people,  said :  M  that  when  the  people  should  see  they  had 
authority  of  life  and  death  in  their  hands,  they  would 
not  be  so  cruel  and  fierce,  but  gentle  and  civil.  More 
also,  that  it  was  not  for  contempt  of  Nobility  or  the 
Senate  that  they  sought  to  have  the  authority  of  justice 
in  their  hands,  as  a  pre-eminence  and  prerogative  of 
honour :  but  because  they  feared,  that  themselves  should 
be  contemned  and  hated  of  the  Nobility.  So  as  they 
were  persuaded,  that  so  soon  as  they  gave  them  authority 
to  judge  by  voices,  so  soon  they  would  'leave  all  envy 
and  malice  to  condemn  any."  §  61.  Martius,  seeing  the 
Senate  in  great  doubt  how  to  resolve,  partly  for  the  love 
and  goodwill  the  nobility  did  bear  him,  and  partly  for 
the  fear  they  stood  in  of  the  people:  asked  aloud  of  the 


APPENDIX  A. 


175 


111.  3.  1-5, 

63-67. 


E 


Tribunes,  '  what  matter  they  would  burden  him  with?' 
The  Tribunes  answered  him,  *  that  they  would  shew  how 
he  did  aspire  to  be  King,  and  would  prove  that  all  his 
actions  tended  to  usurp  tyrannical  power  over  Rome'. 
§  62.  Martius  with  that,  rising  up  on  his  feet  said  :  '  that 
thereupon  he  did  willingly  offer  himself  to  the  people, 
to  be  tried  upon  that  accusation :  and  that  if  it  were 
proved  by  him,  he  had  so  much  as  once  thought  of  any 
such  matter,  that  he  would  then  refuse  no  kind  of  pun- 
ishment they  would  offer  him :  conditionally  (quoth  he) 
that  you  charge  me  with  nothing  else  beside  (iii.  3.  42), 
and  that  ye  do  not  also  abuse  the  Senate'.  They  pro- 
mised they  would  not.  Under  these  conditions  the 
judgment  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  people  assembled. 

§  63.  And  first  of  all  the  Tribunes  would  in  any  case 
(whatsoever  became  of  it)  that  the  people  would  proceed 
to  give  their  voices  by  Tribes,  and  not  by  hundreds  (iii. 
3.  11):  for  by  this  means  the  multitude  of  the  poor  needy 
eople  (and  all  such  rabble  as  had  nothing  to  lose,  and  : 
ad  less  regard  of  honesty  before  their  eyes)  came  to  be 
of  greater  force  (because  their  voices  were  numbered  by 
the  poll)  than  the  noble  honest  citizens,  whose  persons 
and  purse  did  dutifully  serve  the  commonwealth  in  their 
wars.  §  64.  And  then,  when  the  Tribunes  saw  they  could 
not  prove  he  went  about  to  make  himself  King,  they 
began  to  broach  afresh  the  former  words  that  Martius 
had  spoken  in  the  Senate,  in  hindering  the  distribution 
of  the  corn  at  mean  price  unto  the  common  people,  and 
persuading  also  to  take  the  office  of  Tribuneship  fromlActIII.Sc.3. 
them.  And  for  the  third,  they  charged  him  anew,  that; 
he  had  not  made  the  common  distribution  of  the  spoil; 
he  had  gotten  in  the  invading  the  territories  of  the 
Antiates  :  but  had  of  his  own  authority  divided  it  among 
them  who  were  with  him  in  that  journey.  §  65.  But] 
this  matter  was  most  strange  of  all  to  Martius,  looking  | 
least  to  have  been  burdened  with  that  as  with  any  matter! 
of  offence.  Whereupon  being  burdened  on  the  sudden, ' 
and  having  no  ready  excuse  to  make  even  at  that  instant: 
he  began  to  fall  a  praising  of  the  soldiers  that  had  served 
with  him  in  that  journey.  But  those  that  were  not  with! 
him,  being  the  greater  number,  cried  out  so  loud,  and^ 
made  such  a  noise,  that  he  could  not  be  heard.  §  66.  Toj 
conclude,  when  they  came  to  tell  the  voices  of  the  Tribes,  | 
there  were  three  voices  odd,  which  condemned  him  to; 
be  banished  for  life.  §  67.  After  declaration  of  the; 
sentence,  the  people  made  such  joy,  as  they  never  re- 
joiced more  for  any  battle  they  had  won  upon  their! 
enemies,  they  were  so  brave  and  lively,  and  went  home; 
so  jocundly  from  the  assembly,  for  triumph  of  this  sen- 

(AI415)  N 


176 


CORIOLANUS. 


iii.  3. 136-142 
Act  IV.  Sc.  2.} 


Act  IV.  Sc  1. 


tence.  §  68.  The  Senate  again,  in  contrary  manner,  were 
as  sad  and  heavy,  repenting  themselves  beyond  measure, 
that  they  had  not  rather  determined  to  have  done  and 
suffered  anything  whatsoever,  before  the  common  people 
should  so  arrogantly  and  outrageously  have  abused  their 
authority.  There  needed  no  difference  of  garments,  I 
warrant  you,  nor  outward  shows,  to  know  a  Plebeian 
from  a  Patrician,  for  they  were  easily  discerned  by  their 
looks.  §  69.  For  he  that  was  on  the  people's  side  looked 
cheerly  on  the  matter :  but  he  that  was  sad  and  hung 
down  his  head,  he  was  sure  of  the  noblemen's  side: 
saving  Martius  alone,  who  neither  in  his  countenance 
nor  in  his  gait  did  ever  shew  himself  abashed,  or  once 
let  fall  his  great  courage :  but  he  only,  of  all  other  gentle- 
men that  were  angry  at  his  fortune,  did  outwardly  shew 
no  manner  of  passion,  nor  care  at  all  of  himself.  Not 
that  he  did  patiently  bear  and  temper  his  good  hap  in 
respect  of  any  reason  he  had,  or  by  his  quiet  condition : 
but  because  he  was  so  carried  away  with  the  vehemency 
of  anger  and  desire  of  revenge,  that  he  had  no  sense  nor 
feeling  of  the  hard  state  he  was  in :  which  the  common 
people  judge  not  to  be  sorrow,  although  indeed  it  be 
the  very  same.  For  when  sorrow  (as  you  would  say)  is 
set  a-fire,  then  it  is  converted  into  spite  and  malice,  and 
driveth  away  for  that  time  all  faintness  of  heart  and 
natural  fear.  And  this  is  the  cause  why  the  choleric 
man  is  so  altered  and  mad  in  his  actions,  as  a  man  set 
a-fire  with  a  burning  ague:  for  when  a  man's  heart  is 
troubled  within,  his  pulse  will  beat  marvellous  strongly. 
§  70.  Now  that  Martius  was  even  in  that  taking  it  ap- 
peared true  soon  after  by  his  doings.  For  when  he  was 
come  home  to  his  house  again,  and  had  taken  his  leave 
of  his  mother  and  wife,  finding  them  weeping  and  shriek- 
ing out  for  sorrow,  and  had  also  comforted  and  persuaded 
them  to  be  content  with  his  chance :  he  went  immediately 
to  the  gate  of  the  city,  accompanied  with  a  great  number 
of  Patricians,  that  brought  him  thither,  from  whence  he 
went  on  his  way  with  three  or  four  of  his  friends  only, 
taking  nothing  with  him,  nor  requesting  anything  of  any 
man.  So  he  remained  a  few  days  in  the  country  at  his 
houses,  turmoiled  with  sundry  sorts  and  kind  of  thoughts, 
such  as  the  fire  of  his  choler  did  stir  up. 

§  71.  In  the  end,  seeing  he  could  resolve  no  way  to 
take  a  profitable  or  honourable  course,  but  only  was 
pricked  forward  still  to  be  revenged  of  the  Romans :  he 
thought  to  raise  up  some  great  wars  against  them,  by 
their  nearest  neighbours.  Whereupon  he  thought  it  his 
best  way,  first  to  stir  up  the  Volsces  against  them,  know- 
ing they  were  yet  able  enough  in  strength  and  riches  to 


APPENDIX  A.  177 

encounter  them,  notwithstanding  their  former  losses 
they  had  received  not  long  before,  and  that  their  power 
was  not  so  much  impaired,  as  their  malice  and  desire 
was  increased  to  be  revenged  of  the  Romans.  §  72. 
Now  in  the  city  of  Antium  there  was  one  called  Tullus 
Aufidius,  who  for  his  riches,  as  also  for  his  nobility  and 
valiantness,  was  honoured  among  the  Volsces  as  a  king. 
Martius  knew  very  well  that  Tullus  did  more  malice  and 
envy  him  than  he  did  all  the  Romans  besides  (i.  8.  4): 
because  that  many  times,  in  battles  where  they  met, 
they  were  ever  at  the  encounter  one  against  another, 
like  lusty  courageous  youths  striving  in  all  emulation 
of  honour,  and  had  encountered  many  times  together. 
Insomuch  as,  besides  the  common  quarrel  between  them, 
there  was  bred  a  marvellous  private  hate  one  against 
another.  Yet  notwithstanding,  considering  that  Tullus 
Aufidius  was  a  man  of  a  great  mind,  and  that  he  above 
all  other  of  the  Volsces  most  desired  revenge  of  the 
Romans,  for  the  injuries  they  had  done  unto  them  (iv. 
5.  82-85):  he  did  an  act  that  confirmed  the  true  words 
of  an  ancient  poet,  who  said : 

It  is  a  thing  full  hard,  man's  anger  to  withstand, 

If  it  be  stiffly  bent  to  take  an  enterprise  in  hand. 

For  then  most  men  will  have  the  thing  that  they  desire, 

Although  it  cost  their  lives  therefore,  such  force  hath  wicked  ire. 

§  73.  And  so  did  he.  For  he  disguised  himself  in  such; 
array  and  attire,  as  he  thought  no  man  could  ever  have  j 
known  him  for  the  person  he  was,  seeing  him  in  that; 
apparel  he  had  upon  his  back :  and  as  Homer  said  of 
Ulysses :  1 

So  did  he  enter  into  the  enemies'  town.  {Act  IV.Sc.4. 

It  was  even  twilight  when  he  entered  the  city  of  Antium, 
and  many  people  met  him  in  the  streets,  but  no  man 
knew  him.  So  he  went  directly  to  Tullus  Aufidius' 
house,  and  when  he  came  thither,  he  got  him  up  straight 
to  the  chimney-hearth,  and  sat  him  down,  and  spake 
not  a  word  to  any  man,  his  face  all  muffled  over.  They 
of  the  house  spying  him,  wondered  what  he  should  be, 
and  yet  they  durst  not  bid  him  rise.  For  ill-favouredly 
muffled  and  disguised  as  he  was,  yet  there  appeared  a 
certain  majesty  in  his  countenance  and  in  his  silence : 
whereupon  they  went  to  Tullus,  who  was  at  supper,  to 
tell  him  of  the  strange  disguising  of  this  man.  §  74. 
Tullus  rose  presently  from  the  board,  and  coming  to- 
wards him,  asked  him  what  he  was,  and  wherefore  he 
came.  Then  Martius  unmuffled  himself,  and  after  he 
had  paused  awhile,  making  no  answer,  he  said  unto  him : 
"  If  thou  knowest  me  not  yet,  Tullus %  and,  seeing  me,  dost: 


i78 


CORIOLANUS. 


ActIV.Sc.5- 


ActIV.Sc.6. 


not  perhaps  believe  me  to  be  the  man  I  am  indeed,  I 
must  of  necessity  bewray  myself  to  be  that  I  am.  I  am 
Caius  Martius,  who  hath  done  to  thyself  particularly,  and 
to  all  the  Volsces  generally,  great  hurt  and  mischief,  which 
I  cannot  deny  for  my  surname  of  Coriolanus  that  I  bear. 
For  I  never  had  other  benefit  nor  recompence  of  the  true 
and  painful  service  I  have  done,  and  the  extreme  dangers 
I  have  been  in,  but  this  only  surname:  a  good  memory 
and  zvitness  of  the  malice  and  displeasure  thou  shouldest 
bear  me.  Indeed  the  name  only  remainelh  with  me :  for 
the  rest  the  envy  and  cruelty  of  the  people  of  Rome  have 
taken  from  me,  by  the  sufferance  of  the  dastardly  nobility 
and  magistrates,  who  have  forsaken  me,  and  let  me  be 
banished  by  the  people.  This  extremity  hath  nozv  driven 
me  to  come  as  a  poor  suitor,  to  take  thy  chimney -hearth, 
not  of  any  hope  I  have  to  save  my  life  thereby :  for  if  I  had 
feared  death,  I  would  not  have  come  hither  to  have  put 
my  life  in  hazard :  but  pricked  forward  with  spite  and 
desire  I  have  to  be  revenged  of  them  that  thus  have 
banished  me;  whom  now  I  begin  to  be  avenged  on, 
putting  my  person  between  thy  enemies.  §  75.  Where- 
fore, if  thou  hast  any  heart  to  be  wrecked  of  the  injuries 
thy  enemies  have  done  thee,  speed  thee  now,  and  let  my 
misery  serve  thy  turn,  and  so  use  it  as  my  service  may  be 
a  benefit  to  the  Volsces:  promising  thee,  that  I  will  fight 
with  better  good  will  for  all  you  than  ever  I  did  when  I 
was  against  you,  knowing  that  they  fight  more  valiantly 
who  know  the  force  of  the  enemy,  than  such  as  have 
never  proved  it.  And  if  it  be  so  that  thou  dare  not,  and 
that  thou  art  weary  to  prove  fortune  any  more,  then  am  I 
also  weary  to  live  any  longer.  And  it  were  no  wisdom  in 
thee,  to  save  the  life  of  him,  who  hath  been  heretofore 
thy  mortal  enemy,  and  whose  service  now  can  nothing 
help  nor  pleasure  thee."  §  76.  Tullus,  hearing  what  he 
said,  was  a  marvellous  glad  man,  and  taking  him  by  the 
hand,  he  said  unto  him :  "  Stand  up,  O  Martius,  and  be 
of  good  cheer,  for  in  proffering  thyself  unto  us  thou  dost 
us  great  honour :  and  by  this  means  thou  mayest  hope 
also  of  greater  things  at  all  the  Volsces'  hands.  §  77.  So 
he  feasted  him  for  that  time,  and  entertained  him  in  the 
honourablest  manner  he  could,  talking  with  him  in  no 
other  matters  at  that  present :  but  within  few  days  after 
they  fell  to  consultation  together,  in  what  sort  they 
should  begin  their  wars. 

§  78.  Now  on  the  other  side,  the  city  of  Rome  was  in 
marvellous  uproar  and  discord,  the  nobility  against  the 
commonalty,  and  chiefly  for  Martius'  condemnation  and 
banishment.  Moreover  the  priests,  the  soothsayers,  and 
private  men  also,  came  and  declared  to  the  Senate  certain 


APPENDIX  A.  179 

sights  and  wonders  in  the  air,  which  they  had  seen,  and 
were  to  be  considered  of:  amongst  the  which  such  a 
vision  happened:  There  was  a  citizen  of  Rome  called 
Titus  Latinus,  a  man  of  mean  quality  and  condition,  but 
otherwise  an  honest  sober  man,  given  to  a  quiet  life, 
without  superstition,  and  much  less  to  vanity  or  lying. 
This  man  had  a  vision  in  his  dream,  in  the  which  he 
thought  that  Jupiter  appeared  unto  him,  and  commanded 
him  to  signify  to  the  Senate,  that  they  had  caused  a  very 
vile  lewd  dancer  to  go  before  the  procession :  and  said, 
the  first  time  this  vision  had  appeared  unto  him,  he  made 
no  reckoning  of  it :  and  coming  again  another  time  into 
his  mind,  he  made  not  much  more  account  of  the  matter 
than  before.  In  the  end,  he  saw  one  of  his  sons  die, 
who  had  the  best  nature  and  condition  of  all  his  brethren: 
apd  suddenly  he  himself  was  so  taken  in  all  his  limbs, 
that  he  became  lame  and  impotent.  Hereupon  he  told 
the  whole  circumstance  of  this  vision  before  the  Senate, 
sitting  upon  his  little  couch  or  bed,  whereon  he  was 
carried  on  men's  arms :  and  he  had  no  sooner  reported 
this  vision  to  the  Senate,  but  he  presently  felt  his  body 
and  limbs  restored  again  to  their  former  strength  and 
use.  So  raising  up  himself  upon  his  couch,  he  got  up  on 
his  feet  at  that  instant,  and  walked  home  to  his  house, 
without  help  of  any  man.  §  79.  The  Senate  being 
amazed  at  this  matter,  made  diligent  enquiry  to  under- 
stand the  truth :  and  in  the  end  they  found  there  was  such 
a  thing :  There  was  one  that  had  delivered  a  bondman 
of  his  that  had  offended  him  into  the  hands  of  other 
slaves  and  bondmen,  and  had  commanded  them  to  whip 
him  up  and  down  the  market-place,  and  afterwards  to 
kill  him :  and  as  they  had  him  in  execution,  whipping 
him  cruelly,  they  did  so  martyr  the  poor  wretch,  that, 
for  the  cruel  smart  and  pain  he  felt,  he  turned  and 
writhed  his  body  in  strange  and  pitiful  sort.  The  pro- 
cession by  chance  came  by  even  at  the  same  time,  and 
many  that  followed  it  were  heartily  moved  and  offended 
with  the  sight,  saying:  that  this  was  no  good  sight  to 
behold,  nor  meet  to  be  met  in  procession-time.  But  for 
all  this,  there  was  nothing  done:  saving  they  blamed  and 
rebuked  him  that  punished  his  slave  so  cruelly.  §  80.  For 
the  Romans  at  that  time  did  use  their  bondmen  very 
gently,  because  they  themselves  did  labour  with  their 
own  hands,  and  lived  with  them  and  among  them :  and 
therefore  they  did  use  them  the  more  gently  and  famil- 
iarly. For  the  greatest  punishment  they  gave  a  slave 
that  had  offended,  was  this.  They  made  him  carry  a 
limmer  on  his  shoulders  that  is  fastened  to  the  axletree 
of  a  coach,  and  compelled  him  to  go  up  and  down  in 


180  CORIOLANUS. 

that  sort  amongst  all  their  neighbours.  He  that  had 
once  abidden  this  punishment,  and  was  seen  in  that 
manner,  was  proclaimed  and  cried  in  every  market-town: 
so  that  no  man  would  ever  trust  him  after,  and  they 
called  him  Furcifer,  because  the  Latins  call  the  wood 
that  runneth  into  the  axletree  of  the  coach  Furca,  as 
much  to  say  as  a  fork.  §  81.  Now  when  Latinus  had 
made  report  to  the  Senate  of  the  vision  that  had  hap- 
pened to  him,  they  were  devising  whom  this  unpleasant 
dancer  should  be,  that  went  before  the  procession.  There- 
upon certain  that  stood  by  remembered  the  poor  slave 
that  was  so  cruelly  whipped  through  the  market-place, 
whom  they  afterwards  put  to  death  :  and  the  thing  that 
made  him  remember  it,  was  the  strange  and  rare  manner 
of  his  punishment.  The  priests  hereupon  were  repaired 
unto  for  their  advice:  they  were  wholly  of  opinion,  that 
it  was  the  whipping  of  the  slave.  So  they  caused  the 
slave's  master  to  be  punished,  and  began  again  a  new 
procession,  and  all  other  shows  and  sights  in  honour  of 
Jupiter.  §  82.  But  hereby  appeareth  plainly,  how  king 
Numa  did  wisely  ordain  all  other  ceremonies  concerning 
devotion  to  the  gods,  and  specially  this  custom  which  he 
established,  to  bring  the  people  to  religion.  For  when 
the  magistrates,  bishops,  priests,  or  other  religious  min- 
isters go  about  any  divine  service  or  matter  of  religion, 
an  herald  ever  goeth  before  them,  crying  out  aloud  Hoc 
age:  as  to  say,  do  this,  or  mind  this.  Hereby  they  are 
specially  commanded,  wholly  to  dispose  themselves  to 
serve  God,  leaving  all  other  business  and  matters  aside : 
knowing  well  enough,  that  whatsoever  most  men  do, 
they  do  it  as  in  a  manner  constrained  unto  it.  But  the 
Romans  did  ever  use  to  begin  again  their  sacrifices,  pro- 
cessions, plays,  and  such  like  shows  done  in  honour  of 
the  gods,  not  only  upon  such  an  occasion,  but  upon 
lighter  causes  than  that.  As,  when  they  went  a  proces- 
sion through  the  city,  and  did  carry  the  images  of  their 
gods  and  such  other  like  holy  relics  upon  open  hallowed 
coaches  or  chariots,  called  in  Latin  Thensa,  one  of  the 
coach-horses  that  drew  them  stood  still  and  would  draw 
no  more,  and  because  also  the  coach-man  took  the  reins 
of  the  bridle  with  the  left  hand,  they  ordained  that  the 
procession  should  be  begun  again  anew.  Of  late  time 
also,  they  did  renew  and  begin  a  sacrifice  thirty  times 
one  after  another,  because  they  thought  still  there  fell 
out  one  fault  or  other  in  the  same :  so  holy  and  devout 
were  they  to  the  gods. 

<  §  83.  Now  Tullus  and  Martius  had  secret  conference 
swith  the  greatest  personages  of  the  city  of  Antium,  de- 
\  claring  unto  them  that  now  they  had  good  time  offered 


APPENDIX  A.  181 

them  to  make  war  with  the  Romans,  while  they  were  in  \  Cf  Act  IV 
dissension   one   with   another.      They  answered   them,  <      Sc.  3. 
they  were  ashamed  to  break  the  league,  considering  that* 
they  were  sworn  to  keep  peace  for  two  years.    Howbeit,  j 
shortly  after,  the  Romans  gave  them  great  occasion  to; 
make  war  with  them.    §  84.  For  on  a  holy  day,  common  \ 
plays  being  kept  in  Rome,  upon  some  suspicion  or  false 
report,  they  made  proclamation  by  sound  of  trumpet, 
that  all  the  Vol  sees  should  avoid  out  of  Rome  before 
sunset.     Some  think  this  was  a  craft  and  deceit  of  Mar- 
tius,  who  sent  one  to  Rome  to  the  Consuls  to  accuse  the 
Volsces  falsely,  advertising  them  how  they  had  made  a 
conspiracy  to  set  upon  them  whilst  they  were  busy  in 
seeing  these  games,   and   also  to  set   their  city  a-fire. 
§  85.   This  open  proclamation  made  all  the  Volsces  more 
offended  with  the  Romans  than  ever  they  were  before : 
and  Tullus,  aggravating  the  matter,  did  so  inflame  the 
Volsces  against  them,  that   in  the  end  they  sent  their 
ambassadors  to  Rome,  to  summon  them  to  deliver  their 
lands  and  towns  again,  which  they  had  taken  from  them 
in  times  past,  or  to  look  for  present  wars.    The  Romans, 
hearing  this,  were  marvellously  nettled:  and  made  no 
other  answer  but  this  :  "  If  the  Volsces  be  the  first  that 
begin  war,  the  Romans  will  be  the  last  that  will  end  it ". 
§  86.   Incontinently  upon  return  of  the  Volsces'  ambassa- 
dors and  delivery  of  the  Romans'  answer,  Tullus  caused 
an  assembly  general  to  be  made  of  the  Volsces,  and  con- 
cluded to   make  war  upon  the  Romans.     This   done, 
Tullus  did  counsel  them  to  take  Martius  into  their  ser- 
vice, and  not  to  mistrust  him  for  the  remembrance  of  j 
anything  past,  but  boldly  to  trust  him  in  any  matter  to  j 
come:  for  he  would   do  them  more  service  in  fighting; 
for  them  than  ever  he  did  them  displeasure  in  fighting' 
against  them.     So  Martius  was  called  forth,  who  spake  jlv,5-I34_I45- 
so  excellently  in  the  presence  of  them  all,  that  he  was  j 
thought  no  less  eloquent  in  tongue  than  warlike  in  show : 
and  declared  himself  both  expert  in  wars,  and  wise  with 
valiantness.     Thus  he  was  joined   in  commission  with; 
Tullus  as  general  of  the  Volsces,  having  absolute  autho-  j 
rity  between  them  to  follow  and  pursue  the  wars.     §  87. 
But  Martius,  fearing  lest  tract  of  time  to  bring  this  army ' 
together  with   all   the   munition   and   furniture   of  the 
Volsces  would  rob  him  of  the  mean  he  had  to  execute 
his  purpose  and  intent,  left  order  with  the  rulers  and 
chief  of  the  city  to  assemble  the  rest  of  their  power,  and 
to  prepare  all  necessary  provision  for  the  camp.     Then 
he,   with  the  lightest  soldiers  he  had,   and   that  were 
willing  to  follow  him,  stale  away  upon  the  sudden,  and 
marched  with  all  speed,  and  entered  the  territories  of 


182 


CORIOLANUS. 


Rome  before  the  Romans  heard  any  news  of  his  coming. 
Insomuch  as  the  Volsces  found  such  spoil  in  the  fields, 
as  they  had  more  than  they  could  spend  in  their  camp, 
and  were  weary  to  drive  and  carry  away  that  they  had. 
§  88.  Howbeit,  the  gain  of  the  spoil  and  the  hurt  they 
did  to  the  Romans  in  this  invasion  was  the  least  part  of 
his  intent :  for  his  chiefest  purpose  was,  to  increase  still 
the  malice  and  dissension  between  the  nobility  and  the 
commonalty ;  and  to  draw  that  on,  he  was  very  careful 
to  keep  the  noblemen's  lands  and  goods  safe  from  harm 
and  burning,  but  spoiled  all  the  whole  country  besides, 
.  ,  _  \  and  would  suffer  no  man  to  take  or  hurt  anything  of  the 
79' |  noblemen's.  This  made  greater  stir  and  broil  between 
?the  nobility  and  the  people  than  was  before.  For  the 
|  noblemen  fell  out  with  the  people  because  they  had  so 
;  unjustly  banished  a  man  of  so  great  valour  and  power. 
The  people,  on  the  other  side,  accused  the  nobility,  how 
they  had  procured  Martius  to  make  these  wars  to  be 
revenged  of  them :  because  it  pleased  them  to  see  their 
goods  burnt  and  spoiled  before  their  eyes,  whilst  them- 
selves were  well  at  ease,  and  did  behold  the  people's 
;  losses  and  misfortunes,  knowing  their  own  goods  safe 
and  out  of  danger:  and  how  the  war  was  not  made 
against  the  noblemen,  that  had  the  enemy  abroad  to 
keep  that  they  had  in  safety.  §  89.  Now  Martius, 
having  done  this  first  exploit  (which  made  the  Volsces 
bolder,  and  less  fearful  of  the  Romans),  brought  home 
all  the  army  again  without  loss  of  any  man.  After  their 
whole  army  (which  was  marvellous  great,  and  very 
forward  to  service)  was  assembled  in  one  camp,  they 
agreed  to  leave  part  of  it  for  garrison  in  the  country 
about,  and  the  other  part  should  go  on  and  make  the 
war  upon  the  Romans.  So  Martius  bade  Tullus  choose, 
and  take  which  of  the  two  charges  he  liked  best.  Tullus 
made  him  answer,  he  knew  by  experience  that  Martius 
was  no  less  valiant  than  himself,  and  how  he  ever  had 
better  fortune  and  good  hap  in  all  battles  than  himself 
had.  Therefore  he  thought  it  best  for  him  to  have  the 
leading  of  those  that  should  make  the  wars  abroad,  and 
himself  would  keep  home,  to  provide  for  the  safety  of 
the  cities  and  of  his  country,  and  to  furnish  the  camp 
also  of  all  necessary  provision  abroad. 

§  90.  So  Martius,  being  stronger  than  before,  went 
first  of  all  unto  the  city  of  Circees;  inhabited  by  the 
Romans,  who  willingly  yielded  themselves,  and  there- 
fore had  no  hurt.  From  thence  he  entered  the  country 
of  the  Latins,  imagining  the  Romans  would  fight  with 
him  there  to  defend  the  Latins,  who  were  their  confeder- 
ates, and  had  many  times  sent  unto  the  Romans  for 


APPENDIX  A.  183 

their  aid.  But  on  the  one  side,  the  people  of  Rome 
were  very  ill  willing  to  go :  and  on  the  other  aide,  the 
Consuls  being  upon  going  out  of  their  office,  would  not 
hazard  themselves  for  so  small  a  time :  so  that  the  am- 
bassadors of  the  Latins  returned  home  again,  and  did  no 
good.  Then  Martius  did  besiege  their  cities,  and  having 
taken  by  force  the  town  of  the  Tolerinians,  Vicanians, 
Pedanians,  and  the  Bolanians,  who  made  resistance,  he 
sacked  all  their  goods  and  took  them  prisoners.  Such 
as  did  yield  themselves  willingly  unto  him,  he  was  as 
careful  as  possible  might  be  to  defend  them  from  hurt : 
and  because  they  should  receive  no  damage  by  his  will, 
he  removed  his  camp  as  far  from  their  confines  as  he 
could.  Afterwards,  he  took  the  city  of  Boles  by  assault, 
being  about  an  hundred  furlong  from  Rome,  where  he 
had  a  marvellous  great  spoil,  and  put  every  man  to  the^ 
sword  that  was  able  to  carry  weapon.  §  91.  The  other 
Volsces  that  were  appointed  to  remain  in  garrison  for; 
defence  of  their  country,  hearing  this  good  news,  would!  ActIV.Sc.7. 
tarry  no  longer  at  home,  but  armed  themselves  and  ran 
to  Martius5  camp,  saying  they  did  acknowledge  no  other 
captain  but  him.  Hereupon  his  fame  ran  through  all 
Italy,  and  every  one  praised  him  for  a  valiant  captain, 
for  that,  by  change  of  one  man  for  another,  such  and  so 
strange  events  fell  out  in  the  state.  §  92.  In  this  while, 
all  went  still  to  wrack  at  Rome.  For,  to  come  into  the 
field  to  fight  with  the  enemy,  they  could  not  abide  to 
hear  of  it,  they  were  one  so  much  against  another,  and 
full  of  seditious  words,  the  nobility  against  the  people, 
and  the  people  against  the  nobility.  Until  they  had  in- 
telligence at  the  length,  that  the  enemies  had  laid  siege 
to  the  city  of  Lavinium,  in  the  which  were  all  the 
temples  and  images  of  their  gods  their  protectors,  and 
from  whence  came  first  their  ancient  original,  for  that 
yEneas  at  his  first  arrival  into  Italy  did  build  that  city,  j 
§  93.  Then  fell  there  out  a  marvellous  sudden  change  oft 
mind  among  the  people,  and  far  more  strange  and  con-  j  '  '  9  4* 
trary  in  the  nobility.  For  the  people  thought  it  good  toi 
repeal  the  condemnation  and  exile  of  Martius.  The 
Senate,  assembled  upon  it,  would  in  no  case  yield  to 
that :  who  either  did  it  of  a  selfwill  to  be  contrary  to  the 
people's  desire :  or  because  Maftius  should  not  return 
thorough  the  grace  and  favour  of  the  people.  Or  else, 
because  they  were  throughly  angiy  and  offended  with 
him,  that  he  would  set  upon  the  whole,  being  offended 
but  by  a  few,  and  in  his  doings  would  shew  himself  an 
open  enemy  besides  unto  his  country:  notwithstanding 
the  most  part  of  them  took  the  wrong  they  had  done 
him  in  marvellous  ill  part,  and  as  if  the  injury  had  been 


184 


CORIOLANUS. 


ActV. 

SCC.  1,2. 


done  unto  themselves.  Report  being  made  of  the  Sen- 
ate's resolution,  the  people  found  themselves  in  a  strait : 
for  they  could  authorise  and  confirm  nothing  by  their 
voices,  unless  it  had  been  first  propounded  and  ordained 
by  the  Senate.  §  94.  But  Martius,  hearing  this  stir 
about  him,  was  in  a  greater  rage  with  them  than  before : 
inasmuch  as  he  raised  his  siege  incontinently  before  the 
city  of  Lavinium,  and  going  towards  Rome,  lodged 
his  camp  within  forty  furlong  of  the  city,  at  the  ditches 
called  Cluiliae.  His  incamping  so  near  Rome  did  put 
all  the  whole  city  in  a  wonderful  fear :  howbeit  for  the 
present  time  it  appeased  the  sedition  and  dissension 
betwixt  the  nobility  and  the  people.  For  there  was  no 
consul,  senator,  nor  magistrate,  that  durst  once  contrary 
the  opinion  of  the  people  for  the  calling  home  again  of 
Martius. 

§  95-  When  they  saw  the  women  in  a  marvellous  fear, 
running  up  and  down  the  city :  the  temples  of  the  gods 
full  of  old  people,  weeping  bitterly  in  their  prayers  to 
the  gods :  and  finally,  not  a  man  either  wise  or  hardy  to 
provide  for  their  safety :  then  they  were  all  of  opinion, 
that  the  people  had  reason  to  call  home  Martius  again, 
to  reconcile  themselves  to  him,  and  that  the  Senate,  on 
the  contrary  part,  were  in  marvellous  great  fault  to  be 
angry  and  in  choler  with  him,  when  it  stood  them  upon 
rather  to  have  gone  out  and  entreated  him.  So  they  all 
agreed  together  to  send  ambassadors  unto  him,  to  let 
him  understand  how  his  countrymen  did  call  him  home 
again,  and  restored  him  to  all  his  goods,  and  besought 
him  to  deliver  them  from  this  war.  §  96.  The  ambassa- 
dors that  were  sent  were  Martius'  familiar  friends  and 
acquaintance,  who  looked  at  the  least  for  a  courteous 
welcome  of  him,  as  of  their  familiar  friend  and  kinsman. 
Howbeit  they  found  nothing  less:  for  at  their  coming 
they  were  brought  through  the  camp  to  the  place  where 
he  was  set  in  his  chair  of  state,  with  a  marvellous  and 
an  unspeakable  majesty,  having  the  chiefest  men  of  the 
Volsces  about  him :  so  he  commanded  them  to  declare 
openly  the  cause  of  their  coming.  Which  they  delivered 
in  the  most  humble  and  lowly  words  they  possibly  could 
devise,  and  with  all  modest  countenance  and  behaviour 
agreeable  for  the  same.  §  97.  When  they  had  done 
their  message,  for  the  injury  they  had  done  him,  he 
answered  them  very  hotly  and  in  great  choler:  but  as 
general  of  the  Volsces  he  willed  them  to  restore  unto  the 
Volsces  all  their  lands  and  cities  they  had  taken  from 
them  in  former  wars:  and  moreover,  that  they  should 
give  them  the  like  honour  and  freedom  of  Rome  as  they 
had  before  given  to  the  Latins.     For  otherwise  they  had 


APPENDIX  A. 


185 


no  other  mean  to  end  this  war,  if  they  did  not  grant  < 

these  honest  and  just  conditions  of  peace.     Thereupon  j 

he  gave  them  thirty  days  respite  to  make  him  answer.  \ 

So  the  ambassadors   returned   straight   to    Rome,   and 

Martius  forthwith   departed  with  his  army  out  of  the 

territories   of  the   Romans.     §  98.    This   was   the  first) 

matter  wherewith  the  Volsces  (that  most  envied  Martius' 

glory  and  authority)  did  charge  Martius  with.       Among 

those,  Tullus  was  chief:  who  though  he  had  received  no 

private  injury  or  displeasure  of  Martius,  yet  the  common 

fault  and  imperfection  of  man's  nature  wrought  in  him, 

and  it  grieved  him  to  see  his  own  reputation  blemished  Act  IV.Sc.7; 

through  Martius'  great  fame  and  honour,  and  so  himself 

to  be  less  esteemed  of  the  Volsces  than  he  was  before. 

This  fell  out   the  more,   because  every  man  honoured 

Martius,  and  thought  he  only  could  do  all,  and  that  all 

other  governors  and  captains  must  be  content  with  such 

credit  and  authority  as  he  would  please  to  countenance 

them  with.      From   hence  they  derived   all   their   first 

accusations  and  secret  murmurings  against  Martius.    For 

private  captains,  conspiring  against  him,  were  very  angry 

with  him:  and  gave  it   out,  that  the  removing  of  the 

camp  was  a  manifest  treason,  not  of  the  towns,  nor  forts, 

nor  of  arms,  but  of  time  and  occasion,  which  was  a  loss 

of  great  importance,  because  it  was  that  which  in  reason 

might  both  loose  and  bind  all,  and  preserve  the  whole. 

§  99.  Now  Martius  having  given  the  Romans  thirty  days 

respite  for  their  answer,  and  specially  because  the  wars 

have  not  accustomed  to  make  any  great  changes  in  less 

space  of  time  than  that,  he  thought  it  good  yet,  not  to 

lie  asleep  idle  all  the  while,  but  went  and  destroyed  the 

lands  of  the  enemies'  allies,  and  took  seven  great  cities 

of  theirs  well  inhabited,  and  the  Romans  durst  not  once 

put  themselves  into  the  field  to  come  to  their  aid  and 

help,  they  were  so  faint-hearted,  so  mistrustful,  and  loth 

besides    to   make   wars.       Insomuch   as   they  properly 

resembled  the  bodies  paralytic  and  loosed  of  their  limbs 

and  members,  as  those  which   through  the  palsy  have 

lost  all  their  sense  and  feeling. 

§  100.  Wherefore,  the  time  of  peace  expired,  Martius 
being  returned  into  the  dominions  of  the  Romans  again 
with  all  his  army,  they  sent  another  ambassade  unto 
him,  to  pray  peace,  and  the  remove  of  the  Volsces  out 
of  their  country:  that  afterwards  they  might  with  better 
leisure  fall  to  such  agreements  together  as  should  be 
thought  most  meet  and  necessary.  For  the  Romans 
were  no  men  that  would  ever  yield  for  fear.  But  if  he 
thought  the  Volsces  had  any  ground  to  demand  reason- 
able articles  and  conditions,  all  that  they  would  reason- 


1 86 


CORIOLANUS. 


Act  V.  \  ably  ask  should  be  granted  unto  by  the  Romans,  who  of 
Sec.  1,2.  \  themselves  would  willingly  yield  to  reason,  conditionally, 
that  they  did  lay  down  arms.  §  ioi.  Martius  to  that  an- 
swered :  '  that,  as  general  of  the  Volsces,  he  would  reply 
nothing  unto  it:  but  yet,  as  a  Roman  citizen,  he  would 
counsel  them  to  let  fall  their  pride,  and  to  be  conform- 
able to  reason,  if  they  were  wise:  and  that  they  should 
return  again  within  three  days,  delivering  up  the  articles 
agreed  upon,  which  he  had  first  delivered  them.  Other- 
wise, that  he  would  no  more  give  them  assurance  or  safe 
conduct  to  return  again  into  his  camp  with  such  vain 
and  frivolous  messages.'  §102.  When  the  ambassadors 
were  returned  to  Rome,  and  had  reported  Martius' 
answer  to  the  Senate :  their  city  being  in  extreme  danger, 
and  as  it  were  in  a  terrible  storm  or  tempest,  they  threw 
out  (as  the  common  proverb  saith)  their  holy  anchor. 
For  then  they  appointed  all  the  bishops,  priests,  ministers 
of  the  gods,  and  keepers  of  holy  things,  and  all  the 
augurs  or  soothsayers,  which  foreshew  things  to  come  by 
observation  of  the  flying  of  birds  (which  is  an  old  ancient 
kind  of  prophesying  and  divination  amongst  the  Romans) 
to  go  to  Martius,  apparelled  as  when  they  do  their 
sacrifices :  and  first  to  entreat  him  to  leave  off  war,  and 
then  that  he  would  speak  to  his  countrymen,  and  con- 
clude peace  with  the  Volsces.  Martius  suffered  them  to 
come  into  his  camp,  but  yet  he  granted  them  nothing 
the  more,  neither  did  he  entertain  them  or  speak  more 
courteously  to  them,  than  he  did  the  first  time  that  they 
came  unto  him,  saving  only  that  he  willed  them  to  take 
the  one  of  the  two:  either  to  accept  peace  under  the 
first  conditions  offered,  or  else  to  receive  war.  §  103. 
When  all  this  goodly  rabble  of  superstition  and  priests 
were  returned,  it  was  determined  in  council  that  none 
should  go  out  of  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  that  they 
should  watch  and  ward  upon  the  walls  to  repulse  their 
enemies  if  they  came  to  assault  them :  referring  them- 
selves and  all  their  hope  to  time,  and  fortune's  uncertain 
favour,  not  knowing  otherwise  how  to  remedy  the 
danger.  Now  all  the  city  was  full  of  tumult,  fear,  and 
marvellous  doubt  what  would  happen,  until  at  the  length 
there  fell  out  such  a  like  matter,  as  Homer  ofttimes  said 
they  would  least  have  thought  of.  For  in  great  matters, 
that  happen  seldom,  Homer  saith,  and  crieth  out  in  this 
sort: 

The  goddess  Pallas  she,  with  her  fair  glistering  eyes, 

Did  put  into  his  mind  such  thoughts,  and  made  him  so  devise. 

And  in  another  place: 

But  sure  some  god  hath  ta'en  out  of  the  people's  mind 

Both  wit  and  understanding  eke,  and  have  therewith  assigned 


APPENDIX  A.  187 

Some  other  simple  spirit,  instead  thereof  to  bide, 

That  so  they  might  their  doings  all,  for  lack  of  wit,  misguide. 

And  in  another  place: 

The  people  of  themselves  did  either  it  consider, 

Or  else  some  god  instructed  them,  and  so  they  join'd  together. 

§  104.  Many  reckon  not  of  Homer,  as  referring  matters 
unpossible,  and  fables  of  no  likelihood  or  troth,  unto 
man's  reason,  freewill,  or  judgment,  which  indeed  is  not 
his  meaning.  But  things  true  and  likely,  he  maketh  to 
depend  of  our  own  freewill  and  reason.  For  he  oft 
speaketh  these  words: 

I  have  thought  it  in  my  noble  heart. 
And  in  another  place: 

Achilles  angry  was,  and  sorry  for  to  hear 

Him  so  to  say,  his  heavy  breast  was  fraught  with  pensive  fear. 

And  in  another  place: 

Bellerophon  (she)  could  not  move  with  her  fair  tongue, 
So  honest  and  so  virtuous  he  was,  the  rest  among. 

But  in  wondrous  and  extraordinary  things,  which  are 
done  by  secret  inspirations  and  motions,  he  doth  not  say 
that  God  taketh  away  from  man  his  choice  and  freedom 
of  will,  but  that  he  doth  move  it:  neither  that  he  doth 
work  desire  in  us,  but  objecteth  to  our  minds  certain 
imaginations  whereby  we  are  led  to  desire,  and  thereby 
doth  not  make  this  our  action  forced,  but  openeth  the 
way  to  our  will,  and  addeth  thereto  courage  and  hope 
of  success.  For  either  we  must  say,  that  the  gods  meddle 
not  with  the  causes  and  beginnings  of  our  actions:  or 
else  what  other  means  have  they  to  help  and  further 
men?  It  is  apparent  that  they  handle  not  our  bodies, 
nor  move  not  our  feet  and  hands,  when  there  is  occasion 
to  use  them:  but  that  part  of  our  mind  from  which  these 
motions  proceed,  is  induced  thereto,  or  carried  away  by 
such  objects  and  reasons,  as  God  offereth  unto  it. 

§  105.  Now  the  Roman  ladies  and  gentlewomen  did 
visit  all  the  temples  and  gods  of  the  same,  to  make  their 
prayers  unto  them:  but  the  greatest  ladies  (and  more 
part  of  them)  were  continually  about  the  altar  of  Jupiter 
Capitolin,  among  which  troop  by  name,  was  Valeria, 
Publicola's  own  sister  (v.  3.  64):  the  self-same  Publicola, 
who  did  such  notable  service  to  the  Romans,  both  in 
peace  and  wars,  and  was  dead  also  certain  years  before, 
as  we  have  declared  in  his  life.  His  sister  Valeria  was 
greatly  honoured  and  reverenced  among  all  the  Romans: 
and  did  so  modestly  and  wisely  behave  herself,  that  she 
did  not  shame  nor  dishonour  the  house  she  came  of.    So 


188  CORIOLANUS. 

she  suddenly  fell  into  such  a  fancy,  as  we  have  rehearsed 
before,  and  had  (by  some  god,  as  I  think) taken  hold  of 
a  noble  device.  §  106.  Whereupon  she  rose  and  the 
other  ladies  with  her,  and  they  all  together  went  straight 
to  the  house  of  Volumnia,  Martius'  mother:  and  coming 
in  to  her,  found  her,  and  Martius'  wife  her  daughter-in- 
law,  set  together,  and  having  her  husband  Martius'  young 
children  in  her  lap.  Now  all  the  train  of  these  ladies 
sitting  in  a  ring  round  about  her,  Valeria  first  began  to 
speak  in  this  sort  unto  her:  §  107.  "We  ladies  are  come 
to  visit  you  ladies  (my  lady  Volumnia  and  Virgilia)  by  no 
direction  from  the  Senate,  nor  commandment  of  other 
magistrate,  but  through  the  inspiration  (as  I  take  it)  of 
some  god  above:  who,  having  taken  compassion  and  pity 
of  our  prayers,  hath  moved  us  to  come  unto  you,  to 
entreat  you  in  a  matter,  as  well  beneficial  for  us  as  also 
for  the  whole  citizens  in  general,  but  to  yourselves  in 
especial  (if  it  please  you  to  credit  me),  and  shall  redound 
to  our  more  fame  and  glory,  than  the  daughters  of  the 
Sabines  obtained  in  former  age,  when  they  procured 
loving  peace,  instead  of  hateful  war,  between  their 
fathers  and  their  husbands.  Come  on,  good  ladies,  and 
let  us  go  all  together  unto  Martius,  to  entreat  him  to 
take  pity  upon  us,  and  also  to  report  the  truth  unto  him, 
how  much  you  are  bound  unto  the  citizens:  who  not- 
withstanding they  have  sustained  great  hurt  and  losses 
by  him,  yet  they  have  not  hitherto  sought  revenge  upon 
your  persons  by  any  discourteous  usage,  neither  ever 
conceived  any  such  thought  or  intent  against  you,  but 
to  deliver  you  safe  into  his  hands,  though  thereby  they 
look  for  no  better  grace  or  clemency  from  him."  When 
Valeria  had  spoken  this  unto  them,  all  the  other  ladies 
together,  with  one  voice,  confirmed  that  she  had  said. 
§  108.  Then  Volumnia  in  this  sort  did  answer  her:  "My 
good  ladies,  we  are  partakers  with  you  of  the  common 
misery  and  calamity  of  our  country,  and  yet  our  grief 
exceedeth  yours  the  more,  by  reason  of  our  particular 
misfortune,  to  feel  the  loss  of  my  son  Martius'  former 
valiancy  and  glory,  and  to  see  his  person  environed  now 
with  our  enemies  in  arms,  rather  to  see  him  forthcoming 
and  safe  kept  than  of  any  love  to  defend  his  person.  But 
yet  the  greatest  grief  of  our  heaped  mishaps  is  to  see  our 
poor  country  brought  to  such  extremity,  that  all  hope  of 
the  safety  and  preservation  thereof  is  now  unfortunately 
cast  upon  us  simple  women :  because  we  know  not  what 
account  he  will  make  of  us,  since  he  hath  cast  from  him 
all  care  of  his  natural  country  and  commonweal,  which 
heretofore  he  hath  holden  more  dear  and  precious  than 
either  his  mother,  wife,  or  children.     Notwithstanding, 


APPENDIX  A. 


189 


if  ye  think  we  can  do  good,  we  will  willingly  do  what  you 
will  have  us;  bring  us  to  him,  I  pray  you.  For  if  we 
cannot  prevail,  we  may  yet  die  at  his  feet,  as  humble 
suitors  for  the  safety  of  our  country."  §  109.  Her  answer 
ended,  she  took  her  daughter-in-law  and  Martius'  chil- 
dren with  her,  and  being  accompanied  with  all  the  other 
Roman  ladies,  they  went  in  troop  together  unto  the 
Volsces'  camp:  whom  when  they  saw,  they  of  themselves  ; 
did  both  pity  and  reverence  her,  and  there  was  not  a 
man  among  them  that  once  durst  say  a  word  unto  her. 
§  no.  Now  was  Martius  set  then  in  his  chair  of  state, 
with  all  the  honours  of  a  general,  and  when  he  had  spied 
the  women  coming  afar  off,  he  marvelled  what  the  matter 
meant:  but  afterwards  knowing  his  wife  which  came  fore- 
most, he  determined  at  the  first  to  persist  in  his  obstinate 
and  inflexible  rancour.  §  in.  But  overcome  in  the  end 
wifh  natural  affection,  and  being  altogether  altered  to 
see  them,  his  heart  would  not  serve  him  to  tarry  their 
coming  to  his  chair,  but  coming  down  in  haste  he  went* 
to  meet  them,  and  first  he  kissed  his  mother,  and  em- 
braced her  a  pretty  while,  then  his  wife  and  little  children. 
And  nature  so  wrought  with  him  that  the  tears  fell  from 
his  eyes,  and  he  could  not  keep  himself  from  making 
much  of  them,  but  yielded  to  the  affection  of  his  blood, 
as  if  he  had  been  violently  carried  with  the  fury  of  a 
most  swift  running  stream.  After  he  had  thus  lovingly 
received  them,  and  perceiving  that  his  mother  Volumnia 
would  begin  to  speak  to  him,  he  called  the  chiefest  of 
the  council  of  the  Volsces  to  hear  what  she  would  say. 
§  112.  Then  she  spake  in  this  sort:  "If  we  held  our 
peace,  my  son,  and  determined  not  to  speak,  the  state  of 
our  poor  bodies,  and  present  sight  of  our  raiment,  would 
easily  bewray  to  thee  what  life  we  have  led  at  home,  since 
thy  exile  and  abode  abroad;  but  think  now  with  thyself 
how  much  more  unfortunately  than  all  the  women  living, 
7ue  are  come  hither,  considering  that  the  sight  which  should 
be  most  pleasant  to  all  other  to  behold,  spiteful  fortune 
had  made  most  fearful  to  us:  making  myself  to  see  my 
son,  and  my  daughter  here  her  husband,  besieging  the 
walls  of  his  native  country:  so  as  that  which  is  the  only 
comfort  to  all  other  in  their  adversity  and  misery,  to 
pray  xmto  the  gods  and  to  call  to  them  for  aid,  is  the  only 
thing  which  plungeth  us  into  most  deep  perplexity.  For 
we  cannot,  alas !  together  pray  both  for  victory  to  our 
country  and  for  safety  of  thy  life  also:  but  a  world  of 
grievous  curses,  yea,  more  than  any  mortal  enemy  can 
heap  upon  us,  are  forcibly  wrapt  up  in  our  prayers.  For 
the  bitter  sop  of  most  hard  choice  is  offered  thy  wife  and 
children,   to  forego  one  of  the  two:  either  to  lose  the 


190 


CORIOLANUS. 


person  of  Myself,  or  the  nurse  of  their  native  country 
For  myself,  my  son,  I  am  determined  not  to  tarry  //// 
fortune,  in  my  lifetime,  do  make  an  end  of  this  war. 
For  if  I  cannot  persuade  thee,  rather  to  do  good  unto  both 
parties  than  to  overthrow  and  destroy  the  07ie,  preferring 
love  and  nature  before  the  malice  and  calamity  of  wars, 
thou  shalt  see,  my  son,  and  trust  unto  it,  thou  shalt  no 
sooner  march  forward  to  assault  thy  country,  but  thy  foot 
shall  tread  xypon  thy  mother's  womb,  that  brought  thee  first 
into  this  world.  And  I  may  not  defer  to  see  the  day, 
either  that  my  son  be  led  prisoner  in  triumph  by  his 
natural  countrymen,  or  that  he  himself  do  triumph  of 
Act  V.  Sc.  3. 1  them,  and  of  his  natural  country.  §113.  For  if  it  were 
so,  that  my  request  tended  to  save  thy  country,  in  destroy- 
ing the  Volsces,  I  must  confess,  thou  wouldest  hardly  and 
doubtfully  resolve  on  that.  For  as,  to  destroy  thy  natural 
country,  it  is  altogether  unmeet  and  unlawful,  so  were  it 
not  just,  and  less  honourable,  to  betray  those  that  put 
their  trust  in  thee.  But  my  only  demand  consisteth,  to 
make  a  gaol-delivery  of  all  evils,  which  delivereth  equal 
benefit  and  safety  both  to  the  one  and  the  Other,  but 
most  honourable  for  the  Volsces.  For  it  shall  appear, 
that,  having  victory  in  their  hands,  they  have  of  special 
favour  granted  us  singular  graces,  peace,  and  amity, 
albeit  themselves  have  no  less  part  of  both  than  we.  Of 
which  good,  if  so  it  came  to  pass,  thyself  is  the  only 
author,  and  so  hast  thou  the  only  honour.  But  if  it  fail 
and  fall  out  contrary,  thyself  alone  deservedly  shall  carry 
the  shameful  reproach  and  burthen  of  either  party.  So, 
though  the  end  of  war  be  uncertain,  yet  this  notwith- 
standing is  most  certain,  that,  if  it  be  thy  chance  to 
conquer,  this  benefit  shalt  thou  reap  of  thy  goodly  con- 
quest, to  be  chronicled  the  plague  and  destroyer  of  thy 
country.  And  if  fortune  also  overthrow  thee,  then  the 
world  will  say,  that,  through  desire  to  revenge  thy 
private  injuries,  thou  hast  for  ever  undone  thy  good 
friends,  who  did  most  lovingly  and  courteously  receive 
thee."  §  114.  Martius  gave  good  ear  unto  his  mother's 
words,  without  interrupting  her  speech  at  all,  and  after 
;  she  had  said  what  she  would,  he  held  his  peace  a  pretty 
while,  and  answered  not  a  word.  Hereupon  she  began 
I  again  to  speak  unto  him,  and  said:  "My  son,  why  dost 
!thou  not  answer  me?  Dost  thou  think  it  good  altogether 
!to  give  place  unto  thy  choler  and  desire  of  revenge,  and 
thinkest  thou  it  not  honesty  for  thee  to  grant  thy  mother's 
request,  in  so  weighty  a  cause?  Dost  thou  take  // 
honourable  for  a  noble  man  to  remember  the  wrongs  and 
'  injuries  done  him,  and  dost  not  in  like  case  think  it  an 
\  honest  noble  man's  part,  to  be  thankful  for  the  goodness 


APPENDIX  A. 


191 


that  parents  do  shew  to  their  children,  acknowledging 
the  duty  and  reverence  they  ought  to  bear  unto  them? 
No  man  living  is  more  bound  to  shew  himself  thankful  in 
all  parts  and  respects  than  thyself:  who  so  unnaturally 
she  west  all  ingratitude.  Moreover  (my  son)  thou  hast 
sorely  taken  of  thy  country,  exacting  grievous  payments 
upon  them,  in  revenge  of  the  injuries  offered  thee; 
besides,  thou  hast  not  hitherto  shewed  thy  poor  mother  \ 
any  courtesy.  And  therefore  it  is  not  only  honest,  but 
due  unto  me,  that  without  compulsion  I  should  obtain 
my  so  just  and  reasonable  request  of  thee.  But  since  by 
reason  I  cannot  persuade  thee  to  it,  to  what  purpose  do 
I  defer  my  last  hope?"  And  with  these  words,  herself, 
his  wife,  and  children  fell  down  upon  their  knees  before 
him.  §  115.  Martius,  seeing  that,  could  refrain  no 
longer,  but  went  straight  and  lift  her  up,  crying  out, 
"  Oh  mother,  what  have  you  done  to  me?"  And  holding 
her  hard  by  the  right  hand,  "Oh  mother"  said  he,  "you 
have  won  a  happy  victory  for  your  country,  but  mortal 
and  unhappy  for  your  son :  for  I  see  myself  vanquished 
by  you  alone. "  These  words  being  spoken  openly,  he 
spake  a  little  apart  with  his  mother  and  wife  (v.  3.  202), 
and  then  let  them  return  again  to  Rome,  for  so  they  did 
request  him;  and  so  remaining  in  camp  that  night,  the 
next  morning  he  dislodged,  and  marched  homeward  into 
the  Volsces'  country  again,  who  were  not  all  of  one  mind, 
nor  all  alike  contented.  §  116.  For  some  misliked  him 
and  that  he  had  done:  other,  being  well  pleased  that 
peace  should  be  made,  said  that  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  deserved  blame  nor  reproach.  Other,  though  they 
misliked  that  was  done,  did  not  think  him  an  ill  man  for 
that  he  did,  but  said  he  was  not  to  be  blamed,  though 
he  yielded  to  such  a  forcible  extremity.  Howbeit  no 
man  contraried  his  departure,  but  all  obeyed  his  com- 
mandment, more  for  respect  of  his  worthiness  and 
valiancy  than  for  fear  of  his  authority. 

§  117.  Now  the  citizens  of  Rome  plainly  shewed  in 
what  fear  and  danger  their  city  stood  of  this  war,  when 
they  were  delivered.    For  so  soon  as  the  watch  upon  the  ; 
walls  of  the  city  perceived  the  Volsces'  camp  to  remove, 
there  was  not  a  temple  in  the  city  but  was  presently  set  Acty  gc 
open,  and  full  of  men  wearing  garlands  of  flowers  upon 
their  heads,  sacrificing  to  the  gods,  as  they  were  wont ; 
to  do  upon  the  news  of  some  great  obtained  victory. 
And  this  common  joy  was  yet  more  manifestly  shewed 
by  the  honourable  courtesies  the  whole  Senate  and  people 
did  bestow  on  their  ladies.     For  they  were  all  throughly 
persuaded,  and  did  certainly  believe,  that  the  ladies  only 
were  cause  of  the  saving  of  the  city  and  delivering  them- 

(M415)  O 


192  CORIOLANUS. 

selves  from  the  instant  danger  of  the  war.  §  1 18.  Where- 
upon the  Senate  ordained  that  the  magistrates,  to  gratify 
and  honour  these  ladies,  should  grant  them  all  that  they 
would  require.  And  they  only  requested  that  they  would 
build  a  temple  of  Fortune  for  the  women  (v.  3.  207), 
unto  the  building  whereof  they  offered  themselves  to 
defray  the  whole  charge  of  the  sacrifices  and  other 
ceremonies  belonging  to  the  service  of  the  gods.  Never- 
theless the  Senate,  commending  their  goodwill  and  for- 
wardness, ordained  that  the  temple  and  image  should 
be  made  at  the  common  charge  of  the  city.  Notwith- 
standing that,  the  ladies  gathered  money  among  them, 
and  made  with  the  same  a  second  image  of  Fortune, 
which  the  Romans  say  did  speak  as  they  offered  her  up 
in  the  temple  and  did  set  her  in  her  place :  and  they 
affirm,  that  she  spake  these  words:  "Ladies,  ye  have 
devoutly  offered  me  up".  §  119.  Moreover,  that  she 
spake  that  twice  together :  making  us  to  believe  things 
that  never  were,  and  are  not  to  be  credited.  For  to  see 
images  that  seem  to  sweat  or  weep,  or  to  put  forth  any 
humour  red  or  bloody,  it  is  not  a  thing  unpossible.  For 
wood  and  stone  do  commonly  receive  certain  moisture, 
whereof  are  ingendered  humours,  which  do  yield  of 
themselves,  or  do  take  of  the  air,  many  sorts  and  kinds 
of  spots  and  colours :  by  which  signs  and  tokens  it  is 
not  amiss,  me  think,  that  the  gods  sometimes  do  warn 
men  of  things  to  come.  And  it  is  possible  also,  that 
these  images  and  statues  do  sometimes  put  forth  sounds 
like  unto  sighs  or  mourning,  when  in  the  midst  or  bottom 
of  the  same  there  is  made  some  violent  separation  or 
breaking  asunder  of  things  blown  or  devised  therein : 
but  that  a  body  which  hath  neither  life  nor  soul  should 
have  any  direct  or  exquisite  word  formed  in  it  by  express 
voice,  that  is  altogether  unpossible.  For  the  soul  nor 
God  himself  can  dtetinctly  speak  without  a  body,  having 
necessary  organs  and  instruments  meet  for  the  parts  of 
the  same,  to  form  and  utter  distinct  words.  But  where 
stories  many  times  do  force  us  to  believe  a  thing  reported 
to  be  true,  by  many  grave  testimonies:  there  we  must 
say,  that  it  is  some  passion  contrary  to  our  five  natural 
senses,  which  -being  begotten  in  the  imaginative  part  or 
understanding  draweth  an  opinion  unto  itself,  even  as  we 
do  in  our  sleeping.  For  many  times  we  think  we  hear 
that  we  do  not  hear,  and  we  imagine  we  see  that  we  see 
not.  §  120.  Yet  notwithstanding,  such  as  are  godly 
bent  and  zealously  given  to  think  on  heavenly  things,  so 
as  they  can  no  way  be  drawn  from  believing  that  which 
is  spoken  of  them,  they  have  this  reason  to  ground  the 
foundation  of  their  belief  upon  ;  that  is,  the  omnipotency 


APPENDIX  A. 


i$3 


of  God,  which  is  wonderful,  and  hath  no  manner  of  re- 
semblance or  likeness  of  proportion  unto  ours,  but  it  is 
altogether  contrary,  as  touching  our  nature,  our  moving, 
our  art,  and  our  force :  and  therefore,  if  he  do  any  thing 
unpossible  to  us,  or  do  bring  forth  and  devise  things 
without  man's  common  reach  and  understanding,  we 
must  not  therefore  think  it  unpossible  at  all.  For  if  in 
other  things  he  is  far  contrary  to  us,  much  more  in  his 
works  and  secret  operations  he  far  passeth  all  the  rest : 
but  the  most  part  of  God's  doings,  as  Heraclitus  saith, 
for  lack  of  faith,  are  hidden  and  unknown  unto  us. 

§  121.  Now  when  Martius  was  returned  again  into  the 
city  of  Antium  from  his  voyage,  Tullus,  that  hated  and 
could  no  longer  abide  him  for  the  fear  he  had  of  his 
authority,  sought  diverse  means  to  make  him  out  of  the 
way;  thinking,  if  he  let  slip  that  present  time,  he  should 
never  recover  the  like  and  fit  occasion  again.  §  122. 
Wherefore  Tullus,  having  procured  many  other  of  his 
confederacy,  required  Martius  might  be  deposed  from 
his  estate,  to  render  up  account  to  the  Volsces  of  his* 
charge  and  government.  Martius,  fearing  to  become  a 
private  man  again  under  Tullus  being  general  (whose 
authority  was  greater  otherwise  than  any  other  among 
all  the  Volsces),  answered:  he  was  willing  to  give  up 
his  charge,  and  would  resign  it  into  the  hands  of  the  lords 
of  the  Volsces,  if  they  did  all  command  him,  as  by  all 
their  commandment  he  received  it.  And  moreover,  that 
he  would  not  refuse  even  at  that  present  to  give  up  an 
account  unto  the  people,  if  they  would  tarry  the  hearing 
of  it.  §  123.  The  people  hereupon  called  a  common 
council,  in  which  assembly  there  were  certain  orators 
appointed  that  stirred  up  the  common  people  against 
him :  and  when  they  had  told  their  tales,  Martius  rose 
up  to  make  them  answer.  Now,  notwithstanding  the 
mutinous  people  made  a  marvelldus  great  noise,  yet 
when  they  saw  him,  for  the  reverence  they  bare  unto  his 
valiantness,  they  quieted  themselves,  and  gave  him<  ActV.  Sc.6. 
audience  to  allege  with  leisure  what  he  could  for  his  pur 
gation.  Moreover,  the  honestest  men  of  the  Antiates 
and  who  most  rejoiced  in  peace,  shewed  by  their  coun 
tenance  that  they  would  hear  him  willingly  and  judge  > 
also  according  to  their  conscience.  §  124.  Whereupon' 
Tullus,  fearing  that,  if  he  did  let  him  speak,  he  would 
prove  his  innocency  to  the  people,  because  amongst 
other  things  he  had  an  eloquent  tongue;  besides  that 
the  first  good  service  he  had  done  to  the  people  of  the 
Volsces  did  win  him  more  favour  than  these  last  accu- 
sations could  purchase  him  displeasure :  and  furthermore, 
the  offence  they  laid  to  his  charge  was  a  testimony  of  the 


I94  CORIOLANUS. 

; goodwill  they  ought  him;  for  they  would  never  have 
!  thought  he  had  done  them  wrong  for  that  they  took  not 
'the  city  of  Rome,  if  they  had  not  been  very  near  taking 
;  of  it  by  means  of  his  approach  and  conduction.  §  125. 
For  these  causes  Tullus  thought  he  might  no  longer  de- 
!  lay  his  pretence  and  enterprise,  neither  to  tarry  for  the 
mutining  and  rising  of  the  common  people  against  him  : 
wherefore  those  that  were  of  the  conspiracy  began  to 
;  cry  out  that  he  was  not  to  be  heard,  and  that  they  would 
not  suffer  a  traitor  to  usurp  tyrannical  power  over  the 
tribe  of  the  Volsces,  who  would  not  yield  up  his  estate 
and  authority.  And  in  saying  these  words,  they  all  fell 
upon  him,  and  killed  him  in  the  market-place,  none  of 
the  people  once  offering  to  rescue  him. 

§  126.  Howbeit  it  is  a  clear  case,  that  this  murder  was 
not  generally  consented  unto  of  the  most  part  of  the 
Volsces:  for  men  came  out  of  all  parts  to  honour  his 
v  6  I4o-I5^ikocty»  and  did  honourably  bury  him;  setting  out  his  tomb 
s  with  great  store  of  armour  and  spoils,  as  the  tomb  of  a 
worthy  person  and  great  captain.  The  Romans,  under- 
standing  of  his  death,  shewed  no  other  honour  or  malice, 
saving  that  they  granted  the  ladies  the  request  they  made, 
that  they  might  mourn  ten  months  for  him :  and  that 
was  the  full  time  they  used  to  wear  blacks  for  the  death 
of  their  fathers,  brethren,  or  husbands,  according  to 
Numa  Pompilius'  order  who  stablished  the  same,  as  we 
have  enlarged  more  amply  in  the  description  of  his  life. 
Now  Martius  being  dead,  the  whole  state  of  the  Volsces 
heartily  wished  him  alive  again.  §  127.  For,  first  of  all, 
they  fell  out  with  the  yEques  (who  were  their  friends  and 
confederates)  touching  pre-eminence  and  place :  and  this 
quarrel  grew  on  so  far  between  them,  and  frays  and 
murders  fell  out  upon  it  one  with  another.  After  that, 
the  Romans  overcame  them  in  battle,  in  which  Tullus 
was  slain  in  the  field,  and  the  flower  of  all  their  force 
was  put  to  the  sword :  so  that  they  were  compelled  to 
accept  most  shameful  conditions  of  peace,  in  yielding 
themselves  subject  unto  the  conquerors,  and  promising 
to  be  obedient  at  their  commandment. 


APPENDIX    B. 

THE  FABLE  OF  THE  BELLY,  in  i.  1.  86-136. 

This    fable   is   attributed  to   Menenius  Agrippa  on    the 
occasion  of  the  secession  of  the  Plebs  to  Mt.  Sacer,  not  only 


APPENDIX   B. 

by  Plutarch,  but  by  Livy  and  by  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus 
(cf.  Appendix  C).  Douce  suggested  that  Shakespeare  may 
have  had  before  him,  as  well  as  North's  Plutarch,  a  version 
of  the  fable  contained  in  Camden's  Remaines  (1605),  p.  199, 
under  the  head  of  Wise  Speeches.  It  is  worth  while  to  quote 
the  opening  of  the  passage  here.  I  have  italicized  some 
points  that  are  in  Camden  and  Shakespeare,  but  not  in 
North. 

"  All  the  members  of  the  body  conspired  against  the  stomach, 
as  against  the  swallowing  gulf  of  all  their  labours  (i.  I.  88);  for 
whereas  the  eyes  beheld,  the  ears  heard,  the  hands  laboured,  the  feet 
travelled,  the  tongue  spake  (i.  I.  92,  105-107),  and  all  parts  performed 
their  functions,  only  the  stomach  lay  idle  and  consumed  all.  Here- 
upon they  jointly  agreed  all  to  forbear  their  labours,  and  to  pine 
away  their  lazing  and  public  enemy.  One  day  passed  over,  the  second 
followed  very  tedious,  but  the  third  day  was  so  grievous  to  them  all, 
that  they  called  a  common  counsel.  The  eyes  waxed  dim,  the  feet 
could  not  support  the  body  ;  the  arms  waxed  lazy,  the  tongue  faltered, 
and  could  not  lay  open  the  matter.  Therefore  they  all  with  one 
accord  desired  the  advice  of  the  heart.  Ihere  Reason  laid  open  before 
them,  &c.  (i.  1.  106,  '  the  counsellor  heart ' ;  i.  I.  126)." 

In  Camden  the  fable  is  ascribed  to  Pope  Adrian  the  Fourth. 
It  is  not,  however,  found  in  Roman  history  alone,  but  is  a 
very  wide-spread  story,  familiar  to  modern  Europe  from  the 
so-called  Fables  of  Aesop,  a  fifteenth-century  compilation 
based  principally  upon  the  Greek  Fables  of  Phaedrus.  The 
history  of  this  particular  fable  has  been  exhaustively  studied 
by  Prato  in  his  paper  HApologo  di  Menenio  Agrifpa  in  the 
Archivio  per  Tradizione  Popolari,  iv.  25-40,  and  by  Mr. 
Joseph.  Jacobs  in  pp.  82-90  of  the  History  of  the  Aesopic 
Fable  prefixed  to  his  1889  edition  of  the  Fables  of  Aesop  in 
the  Bibliotheque  de  Carabas.  The  oldest  known  version — it 
is  3146  years  old — is  the  Trial  of  the  Belly  and  the  Head  in 
an  Egyptian  papyrus  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  (c.  1250  B.C.). 
The  fable  is  also  found  in  the  sacred  literature  of  the  Chinese, 
and  of  Buddhists,  Brahmans,  and  Magians.  St.  Paul  pro- 
bably had  it  in  mind  when  he  wrote  1  Cor.,  xii.  12-26. 
Mr.  Jacobs  is  of  opinion  that  the  Roman  version  cannot  be 
definitely  traced  to  any  other :  it  seems  to  have  sprung  up 
sporadically  in  Italy. 


196  CORIOLANUS. 

APPENDIX    C. 

THE    CORIOLANUS    OF   HISTORY. 

Plutarch's  account  of  Coriolanus  owes  much  to  that  of 
Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  in  his  History  of  Rome  (vii. 
20-viii.  59),  written  about  B.C.  7.  Independent  accounts  are 
given  by  Livy  (ii.  34-40)  and  by  Zonaras,  a  twelfth-century 
Byzantine  writer,  whose  Annals  are  practically  an  epitome 
of  the  lost  Roman  History  of  Dion  Cassius  (c.  A.D.  222). 
The  narratives  of  Plutarch  and  Livy  differ  in  many  points. 
Even  the  name  of  Coriolanus  is  a  matter  of  dispute,  Plutarch 
making  him  Caius  Marcius,  Livy,  according  to  most  MSS., 
Cnaeus  Marcius;  and  Niebuhr  {Hist,  of  Rome,  ii.  88-110,  235- 
244)  throws  doubt  on  many  details  of  the  story.  But  there 
certainly  was  a  temple  of  Fortuna  Muliebris  four  miles  from 
Rome  on  the  Latin  Road  (cf.  v.  3.  207),  and  the  name  of  the 
first  priestess  was  Valeria,  which  perhaps  explains  her  con- 
nection with  the  story  (cf.  note  ad  init.  of  act  v.  sc.  3).  Upon 
the  whole  story  it  is  worth  while  to  quote  Mommsen  {Hist,  of 
Rome,  ed.  1881,  p.  287).  After  describing  the  crisis  between 
patricians  and  plebeians  which  arose  from  usury  and  agricul- 
tural distress  about  495  B.C.  and  led  to  the  secession  to  the 
Mons  Sacer  and  the  election  of  tribunes,  he  says : 

"The  best-known  incident  in  these  conflicts  of  the  orders  is  the 
history  of  Gaius  Marcius,  a  brave  aristocrat,  who  derived  his  surname 
from  the  storming  of  Corioli.  Indignant  at  the  refusal  of  the  cen- 
turies to  intrust  to  him  the  consulate  in  the  year  491  B.C.,  he  is 
reported  to  have  proposed,  according  to  one  version,  the  suspension 
of  the  sales  of  corn  from  the  state  stores,  till  the  hungry  people 
should  abandon  the  tribunate;  according  to  another  version,  the 
direct  abolition  of  the  tribunate  itself.  Impeached  by  the  tribunes 
so  that  his  life  was  in  peril  it  is  said  that  he  left  the  city,  only  how- 
ever to  return  at  the  head  of  a  Volscian  army;  .that  when  he  was  on 
the  point  of  conquering  the  city  of  his  fathers  for  the  public  foe,  the 
earnest  appeal  of  his  mother  touched  his  conscience;  and  that  thus 
he  expiated  his  first  treachery  by  a  second,  and  both  by  death.  How 
much  of  this  is  true  cannot  be  determined ;  but  the  story  over  which 
the  naive  misrepresentations  of  the  Roman  annalists  have  shed  a 
patriotic  glory,  affords  a  glimpse  of  the  deep  moral  and  political 
disgrace  of  these  conflicts  between  the  orders. " 

A  few  notes  from  Livy  may  serve  to  further"  illustrate  the 
play.  The  battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  at  which  Marcius  won 
fame  against  the  Tarquins,  is  put  in  B.C.  497.    The  dictator's 


APPENDIX  C.  197 

name  is  given  as  Aulus  Postumius  (ii.  2.  85).  The  secession 
of  the  Plebs  to  Mons  Sacer  was  in  B.C.  492.  It  was  insti- 
gated by  one  Sicinius,  and  was  appeased  by  the  story  of  the 
belly  told  by  Menenius  Agrippa/facundus  vir  et  plebi  earns. 
Sicinius  was  one  of  the  first  tribunes  of  the  plebs,  who  were 
chosen  in  the  same  year.  In  B.C.  491  Postumus  Cominius 
was  consul,  and  the  siege  of  Corioli  took  place.  In  the  same 
year,  and  therefore  before  the  banishment  of  Coriolanus,  died 
Menenius  Agrippa.  Coriolanus  was  banished  on  account  of 
his  action  in  opposing  the  distribution  of  corn  from  Sicily, 
two  years  later,  in  B.C.  489.  He  fled  to  his  friend  Attius 
Tullus  (not  Aufidius)  the  Volscian,.and  made  war  upon  Rome. 
The  name  of  Coriolanus'  mother  is  given,  not  as  Volumnia, 
but  Veturia. 

Shakespeare  has  occasionally  been  led  into  historical 
blunders  by  some  misunderstanding  of  Plutarch.  Thus 
Plutarch  says  that  Martius  Censorinus  was  of  the  same 
family  as  Coriolanus.  He  does  not  say  that  he  was  an 
ancestor,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  was  censor  in  B.C.  265, 
while  the  aqueduct  of  Publius  and  Quintus  Marcius  was  not 
built  until  B.C.  139.  But  the  date  assigned  to  Coriolanus' 
death  is  B.C.  489.  Shakespeare,  however,  in  ii.  3.  229-236, 
makes  all  the  members  of  the  family  ancestors  of  Coriolanus. 
And  this  arises  naturally  in  the  process  of  dramatization, 
because  what  Plutarch  states  in  his  own  person  as  an 
historian,  the  dramatist  puts  in  the  mouth  of  a  personage 
contemporary  with  Coriolanus  himself. 


ESSAY  ON   METRE. 


§  i.  Introduction. — The  play  oiCoriolanus  is  written  partly 
in  prose  and  partly  in  verse,  and  the  verse,  again,  is  partly 
rhymed  and  partly  unrhymed.  The  present  essay  is  intended 
to  explain  the  meaning  of  these  distinctions  and  to  point  out 
the  way  in  which  Shakespeare  used  the  various  modes  of  ex- 
pression at  his  command.1 

§2.  Stress. — The  possibility  of  verse  depends  mainly  upon 
that  quality  of  speech  which  is  known  as  stress  or  accent. 
Speech  is  made  up  of  a  succession  of  syllables,  that  is,  of 
sounds  or  groups  of  sounds,  each  consisting  of  a  vowel,  or  of 
a  vowel  accompanied  by  one  or  more  consonants,  and  pro- 
nounced by  a  single  muscular  effort.  This  succession  is 
broken  up  by  pauses,  which  range  in  length  from  the  slight 
pause  after  each  word  to  the  important  pause  at  the  end  of 
a  sentence.  Syllables  differ  amongst  themselves  in  various 
manners,  which  depend  upon  variations  in  the  complicated 
physical  processes  by  which  sounds  are  produced.  We  are 
here  only  concerned  with  two  of  these  differences,  namely 

1  The  student  who  wishes  to  pursue  the  subject  of  Shakespeare's  metre  further 
may  find  the  following  books  and  essays,  amongst  many  others,  useful.  Goswin 
Konig,  Der  Vers  in  Shakspere's  Dramen  (a  mine  of  learning  by  a  German  who 
cannot  scan  English);  J.  B.  Mayor,  Chapters  on  English  Metre  (on  the  whole, 
the  most  suggestive  introduction  to  the  subject);  E.  A.  Abbott,  Shakespearean 
Grammar  (§§  452-515);  Henry  Sweet,  History  of English  Sounds;  Sidney  Lanier, 
The  Science  of  English  Verse;  Coventry  Patmore,  Essay  on  English  Metrical 
Law  [Poems,  vol.  ii.);  J.  A.  Symonds,  Blank  Verse;  J.  Schipper,  Englische  Metrik 
(1881-1888);  Grundriss  zu  Englischen  Metrik  (1895I;  A.  J.  Ellis,  Early  English 
Pronunciation  (E.E.T.S.);  Robert  Bridges,  Milton's  Prosody  (1894);  C.  H.  Her- 
tford, Outline  of  Shakespeare's  Prosody  in  Richard  II.  (Warwick  Series) ;  N.  Delius, 
Die  Prosa  in  Shakespeare's  Dramen  (in  Jahrbuch  der  Deutschen  Shakespeare- 
Gesellschaft,  v.  227) ;  J.  Heuser,  Der  Coupletreim  in  Shakespeare 's  Dramen 
[Jahrbuch,  xxviii.  177,  xxix.-xxx.  235);  H.  Sharpe,  Prose  in  Shakespeare's  Plays 
{Transactions  of  the  New  Shakspere  Society,  1880-82,  p.  523).  The  "verse- 
tests"  are  dealt  with  in  N.  S.  Soc.  Transactions  for  1874  (passim);  F.  G.  Fleay, 
ShakespeareiManual  (1875),  Metrical  Tests  applied  to  Shakespeare  (in  Ingleby's 
Shakespeare,  the  Man  and  the  Book,  part  ii.,  1881,  p.  50^;  F.  J.  Fumivall,  Intro- 
duction to  Gervinus'  Commentaries',  "W.  Hertzberg,  Metrisches,  Grammatisches, 
Chronologisches  zu  Shakespeare's  Dramen  [Jahrbuch,  xiii.  248);  H.  Conrad, 
Metrische  Untersuchungen  zur  Festellung des  Abfassungzeit  von  Shakespeare  s 
Dramen  [Jahrbuch,  xxxi.  318),  and  G.  K5nig,  op.  cit.  ch.  vii. 


ESSAY  ON   METRE.  199 

quantity  and  stress.  The  quantity  of  a  syllable  is  measured 
by  the  time  which  the  effort  of  pronouncing  it  takes.  Syllables 
are  classified  according  to  quantity  as  long  or  short.  Nearly 
all  Latin  and  Greek  metres  rest  upon  this  distinction,  but  in 
English  it  is  of  secondary  importance  (see  §§  8  (ii)  (iii)  (viii):  12 
(iii) ).  The  stress  of  a  syllable  is  the  amount  of  force  or  impulse 
with  which  it  is  uttered.  Every  syllable  of  course  requires 
some  of  this  force  or  impulse  to  be  audible  at  all;  but  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  speak  of  syllables  which  have  more  of  it  as  stressed, 
and  of  those  which  have  less  as  unstressed.  Thus  in  the 
word  Capitol,  the  first  syllable  is  stressed,  the  last  two  are 
unstressed.  Stress  is  sometimes  called  accent,  and  is  con- 
veniently denoted  by  a  ('),  thus,  Cap'itol.  Most  words  other 
than  monosyllables  have  a  normal  stress  on  one  or  more 
syllables,  and  it  is  a  tendency  of  English,  as  of  all  Teutonic 
languages,  to  throw  this  stress  as  near  the  beginning  of  the 
word  as  possible.  (See,  however,  §  10.)  Long  monosyllables 
are  also  normally  stressed.  Short  monosyllables,  however, 
and  some  dissyllables  have  no  normal  stress,  but  are  capable 
of  receiving  one,  if  the  meaning  they  convey  is  of  importance 
in  the  sentence.  This  deliberate  imposition  of  a  stress  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  out  a  meaning  is  called  emphasis. 

[N.B. — Some  writers  distinguish  not  merely  between  unstressed  and 
stressed  syllables,  but  between  unstressed,  lightly  or  weakly  stressed,  and 
strongly  stressed  syllables.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  degrees  of  stress 
which  a  syllable  is  capable  of  receiving  are  more  numerous  than  either 
of  these  classifications  implies;  and  on  this  fact  much  of  the  beauty  of 
verse  depends.  But,  for  the  purposes  of  scansion,  the  important  thing 
is  not  the  absolute  amount  of  stress,  but  the  relative  stress  of  the  syl- 
lables in  the  same  foot  (cf.  §  3).  The  introduction  of  light  stress  appears 
to  me  only  to  confuse  matters,  because  if  you  use  the  threefold  classifi- 
cation, no  two  readers  will  agree  in  the  amount  of  stress  to  be  put  on 
particular  syllables:  it  is  hard  enough  to  get  them  to  do  so  with  the 
twofold  division.  Moreover,  in  practice,  the  notion  of  light  stress  has 
led  many  metrists  to  disregard  level  rhythms,  such  as  the  pyrrhic  or  the 
spondee,  altogether.  Yet  such  assuredly  exist.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  discuss  the  subject  at  length,  but  it  is  right  to  explain  my  departure 
from  usage.  But  let  me  repeat,  that  the  limits  of  variation  both  in 
stress  and  rhythm  are  much  beyond  what  any  system  of  scansion  can 
comprehend.] 

§  3.  Rhythm. — Stress  is  a  quality  of  speech,  alike  in  prose 
and  verse ;  and,  moreover,  alike  in  prose  and  verse,  when 
stressed  and  unstressed  syllables  follow  each  other  in  such  an 
order  as  to  be  pleasing  to  the  ear,  the  result  is  rhythm.  But 
the  rhythm  of  verse  is  much  more  definite  than  that  of  prose. 
Verse  consists  of  feet  arranged  in  lines  \  that  is  to  say,  its 


200  CORIOLANUS. 

rhythm  depends  upon  a  series  of  groups  of  syllables,  in  each 
of  which  groups  the  stress  is  placed  according  to  a  recognized 
law,  while  the  series  is  broken  at  regularly  recurring  intervals 
by  a  pause.  And  the  various  kinds  of  rhythm,  or  metres,  may 
be  classified  according  to -(a)  the  number  of  feet  or  syllables 
in  the  line,  and  (b)  the  position  of  the  stress  in  the  foot.  The 
principal  kinds  of  feet  are  best  known  by  names  adapted  from 
the  classical  quantitative  metres.     They  are  these: — 

In  ascending  rhythm. 

Iamb.     Non-stress  +  Stress,  as,  desire'. 

Anapaest.     Non-stress + non-stress + stress,  as,  I  was  moved'. 

In  descending  rhythm. 

Trochee.     Stress + non-stress,  as,  belly. 

Dactyl.     Stress + non-stress + non-stress,  as,  lovelier. 

In  level  rhythm. 

Spondee.     Stress  +  stress,  as,  great' toe'. 

Pyrrhic.     Non-stress + non-stress.  as,  it  is. 

Most  kinds  of  English  verse  can  be  scanned,  that  is,  metri- 
cally analysed,  as  combinations  of  one  or  more  of  these  feet 
in  lines  of  different  length. 

§4.  Rhyme. — Another  quality,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
present  in  English  verse,  is  rhyme.  This  is  produced  when 
the  last  stressed  syllables  of  two  or  more  neighbouring  lines 
have  the  same  or  nearly  the  same  sound.  The  ordinary  form 
of  rhyme  is  that  in  which  the  same  vowel  and  final  con- 
sonantal sounds  are  accompanied  by  a  different  initial  con- 
sonantal sound;  as  ring,  sing.  Where  there  is  no  such 
different  initial  consonant,  the  rhyme  is  called  identical. 
Where  all  the  consonantal  sounds  differ,  and  only  the  vowel 
sound  is  the  same,  as  in  ring,  kill,  then  assonance  and  not 
rhyme  is  produced. 

§  5.  Blank  Verse. — The  principal  metre  used  by  Shake- 
speare is  the  iambic  decasyllable  or  heroic  line.  This  con- 
sists, normally,  of  five  iambic  feet,  with  a  pause  after  the 
second  or  third  foot  as  well  as  at  the  end  of  the  line;  thus: 

Against'  |  the  wind'  J  a  mile'!  |  You  souls'  |  of  geese'  (i.  4.  34). 

Rhyme  may  or  may  not  be  present.  On  the  rhymed  varieties, 
see  §  17;  but  far  more  important  for  the  study  of  Shakespeare 
is  the  unrhymed  variety,  generally  known  as  blank  verse. 
Blank  verse  was  first  used  in  English  by  the  Earl  of  Surrey  in 
his  translation  of  the  jEneid.  It  became  the  fashion  amongst 
the  court  writers  of  tragedy,  who  thought  with  Sidney  that  to 
eliminate  rhyme  was  to  be  classical;  and  was  introduced  into 


ESSAY  ON  METRE.  201 

the  popular  drama  by  Marlowe  in  his  Tamburlaine.  Nash 
satirized  the  "drumming  decasyllabon ",  but  the  new  metre 
proved  so  suitable  for  dramatic  purposes,  that  it  soon  rele- 
gated rhyme  to  a  quite  secondary  position.  Elizabethan  drama 
is  practically  a  blank- verse  drama. 

§  6.  The  Type  of  Blank  Verse  and  its  Varieties. — We 
have  seen  that  a  blank-verse  line  is  normally  composed  of 
five  iambic  feet,  with  a  middle  and  a  final  pause.  But  to 
compose  an  entire  poem  of  lines  rigidly  adhering  to  this 
structure  would  involve  two  difficulties.  In  the  first  place  it 
would  produce  a  terrible  monotony  of  effect;  and  in  the  second 
place  it  would  be  an  intolerable  restraint  upon  expression.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  so  arrange  words  that  they  should  fall 
into  sections  of  exactly  equal  length  and  exactly  similar  stress, 
and  should  yet  convey  adequately  the  poet's  meaning.  There- 
fore all  writers  of  blank  verse  have  allowed  themselves  to  de- 
viate very  considerably  from  the  normal  type,  within  the  limits 
of  this  general  principle,  that  the  variations  must  never  ex- 
tend so  far  as  to  prevent  that  type  from  being  easily  recog- 
nizable as  that  of  the  verse  as  a  whole.  The  interpretation  of 
this  principle  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  ear  of  the  particular 
writer ;  each  handles  his  blank  verse  in  a  different  and  indi- 
vidual fashion.  In  the  case  of  Shakespeare  we  may  go  further 
and  say,  that  his  fashion  of  handling  blank  verse  was  con- 
stantly changing  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  poetic 
career.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  examine  each  play 
separately,  and  to  determine  for  each  the  limits  within  which 
Shakespeare's  ear  allowed  him  to  vary  his  metre  at  the  time 
when  he  wrote  it.  In  doing  this  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
the  results  can  only  be  approximate  and  not  scientifically 
precise;  for  this  reason,  that  just  as  Shakespeare  wrote  by 
ear  and  not  by  a  priori  rules,  so  the  ear  of  the  reader — the 
educated  ear  of  the  cultivated  reader — is  the  only  ultimate 
criterion  of  how  any  individual  line  is  to  be  scanned.  And 
though  in  the  main  such  readers  will  agree,  there  will  always 
be  certain  lines  which  can  be  read  in  two  ways,  one  of  which 
will  sound  best  to  one  ear,  one  to  another.  (See  e.g.  §§  8 
<ii)  (*)(*);  12  (iii).) 

§  7.  Variations  in  the  Materials  of  Verse. — But  before  we 
proceed  to  inquire  what  varieties  of  blank  verse  Shakespeare 
permitted  himself  in  Coriolanus,  we  have  to  consider  another 
question  hardly  less  important.  In  all  verse  the  problem 
before  the  writer  is  to  accommodate  to  a  given  type  of  metre 
words  of  varying  stress  and  a  varying  number  of  syllables. 


202  C0RI0LANUS. 

Where  difficulties  arise,  two  courses  are  open — either  to 
modify  the  metre  or  to  modify  the  words.  For  both  are 
alike  capable,  within  limits,  of  modification.  The  normal 
pronunciation  of  any  word  is  that  which  an  educated  reader 
of  careful  enunciation  would  give  to  it  in  reading  prose.  But 
this  normal  pronunciation,  especially  as  regards  the  number 
of  syllables,  is  often  modified:  (a)  dialectically,  (d)  colloqui- 
ally. Thus  we  say  'em  for  them,  and  even,  I  am  afraid,  'cos 
for  because.  And  poetry  has  at  all  times  claimed  for  itself, 
within  certain  customary  bounds,  a  still  larger  license  of 
modification.  What  has  been  said  so  far  applies  to  modern 
as  well  as  Elizabethan  poetry.  But  it  must  be  added  that 
the  bounds  of  this  license  were  very  much  wider  for  an 
Elizabethan  than  they  are  for  us.  Elizabethan  pronuncia- 
tion, like  Elizabethan  grammar,  was  in  a  transition  stage. 
Our  comparative  uniformity  in  the  matter  had  been  by  no 
means  arrived  at.  Even  the  normal  pronunciation  differed 
in  many  respects  from  ours.  Thus  Shakespeare  regularly 
said  fiersev'er  where  we  say  persevere',  and,  probably,  neeld 
where  we  say  needle.  But  in  addition  to  this,  there  were 
many  obsolete  pronunciations  which,  though  they  had  ceased 
to  be  normal,  were  still  living  enough  not  to  be  out  of  place 
in  poetry.  Without  distinguishing  between  licenses  which 
are  and  those  which  are  not  still  possible  to  us  in  verse,  we 
will  consider  more  generally  what  amount  of  variable  pro- 
nunciation we  have  to  allow  for  in  reading  Coriolanus.  And 
this  (a)  as  .regards  the  number  of  syllables  in  a  word ;  (&)  as 
regards  the  position  of  stress.  After  which  we  can  go  on  to 
the  varieties  of  metre  itself. 

[N.B. — It  is  sometimes  convenient  to  mark  a  suppressed  or  slurred 
letter  by  an  apostrophe  {th'),  or  by  a  dot  underneath  it  (e)\  a  separately- 
sounded  syllable  by  a  diaeresis  ( " )  on  the  vowel,  and  two  merged 
syllables  by  a  circumflex  ("").] 

§  8.  Syllabic  Variation. — (i)  The  unstressed  e  of  the  verb 
and  noun  inflexions  was  gradually  disappearing  in  Shake- 
speare's time.  He  sounds  it,  on  the  whole,  more  frequently 
in  the  earlier  than  in  the  later  plays,  but  his  use  varies  for 
the  different  forms.  In  some  the  sounded  e  is  the  rule,  in 
others  the  exception.     Thus: 

(a)  -es  (3  pers.  sing. ).  The  uncontracted  form  is  only  found  in  knock'es 
(1  Henry  VI. ,  i.  3.  5),  provokes  (2  Henry  VI.,  iv.  7.  8),  both  of  which  are 
possibly  un-Shakespearean;  and  peep'es  (Winters  Tale,  iv.  4.  148). 

(b)  -es  (gen.  sing.).  Here,  too,  the  uncontracted  form  is  practically 
obsolete;  but  a  few  examples  are  found  chiefly  in  early  plays,  e.g.  moone's 
(Midsummer- Night's  Dream,  ii.  1.  7),  ropes  (Comedy  of  Errors,  iv.  1. 
98),  whales  (Love's  Labour's  Lost,  v.  2.  332). 


ESSAY  ON  METRE.  203 

(c)  -es  (plural).  Contraction  is  very  rare.  K6nig  (p.  17)  would  so 
explain  carcasses  (iii.  3.  122),  marriages  (i.  1.  185);  but  I  think  that  these 
dissyllables  should  be  accounted  for  under  §  8  (ii)  (J),  as  carcasses, 
marriages. 

(d)  '-eth  (3  pers.  sing.).  Contraction  is  the  rule.  The  only  exception 
in  this  play  is  placeth  (i.  5.  24). 

(e)  -est  {2  pers.  sing.).  Always  contracted  in  this  play.  The  uncon- 
tracted  form  occurs  sparsely  in  some  early  plays. 

(/)  -est  (superl.).  Here,  on  the  contrary,  the  uncontracted  form  is 
normal.  Thus  we  have  lowest,  basest,  poorest  (i.  1.  147).  The  excep- 
tions are  greatest  (iii.  1.  103),  poorest  (iii.  3.  32;  iv.  7.  56),  youngest  (iv. 
6.  68),  highest  (v.  6.  84). 

(g)  -ed  (perf.).     Contraction  is  the  rule,  but  we  have  waxed  (ii.  2.  95). 

(h)  -ed  (part.).  Contraction  is  the  rule,  but  there  are  several  excep- 
tions: crowned  (i.  1.  105),  dissolved  (i.  1.  195),  condemned^.  8.  15),  fixed 
(ii.  3.  241),  renozvned  (iii.  1.  291),  deserved  (iii.  1.  292),  blessed  (iv.  2.  20), 
grained  (iv.  5.  106),  burned  (iv.  6.  85). 

(i)  -en  (part.).  Always  contracted,  in  stolen  (v.  6.  88),  driven  (i.  6. 
12),  given  (i.  6.  11;  iii.  1.  74). 

[N.B. — These  rules  do  not  apply  to  cases  of  sibilants  before  -es,  -est, 
or  of  dentals  before  -eth,  -ed,  where  the  e  is  necessarily  sounded.] 

(ii)  An  unaccented  short  vowel  coming  between  two  con- 
sonants may  be  elided  or  slurred  in  almost  any  place.  This 
is  especially  so  when  the  vowel  is  followed  by  /,  n,  or  r. 
These  consonants,  with  m,  are  known  as  liquids  or  vowel- 
likes.  When  a  vowel-like  follows  another  consonant,  it  makes 
the  very  slightest  difference  in  the  pronunciation,  whether  a 
vowel  sound  is  interposed  or  not.  This  may  be  tested  by 
comparing  the  pronunciation  of  able  (so  written,  but  pro- 
nounced abet)  and  ably.  Instances  of  such  elison  or  slurring 
in  our  play  are: 

{a)  Before  / — vigilant  (i.  1.  105),  bodily  (i.  2.  5),  cautelous  (iv.  1.  33), 
absolute  (iii.  1.  90),  popular  (iii.  1.  106),  particular  (iv.  5.  84),  violently 
(iii.  1.  220).  But  we  have  also  particular  (iv.  7.  13),  and  violent  (i.  5. 
15),  violentest  (iv.  6.  73).  Similarly  before  // — counsellor  (i.  1.  106),  and 
unparalleled  (v.  2.  16),  unless  the  pronunciation  should  here  be  un- 
paralleled. 

{b)  Before  n — business  (i.  1.  234),  unfortunate  (v.  3.  97),  mountainous 
(ii.  3.  111),  conveyances  (v.  1.  54),  mutinous  (i.  1.  101);  but  also  mutinous 
(i.  2.  11)  and  mut'iners  (i.  1.  241).  The  verb  appears  to  be  warrant 
(i.  4.  47;  ii.  1.  206),  and  the  noun  warrant  (iii.  1.  275).  In  iv.  1.  12 
the  same  word  is  pronounced  in  both  ways — 

Vir.  O  heavens !  |  O  heav-  |  ens ! 

Cor.  Nay,  |  I  pri-  |  thee  wo(man), — 

We  should  pronounce  stolen,  driven,  given  (§  8  (i)  (i) ),  and  probably  even 
(i.  1.  102;  i.  6.  38),  though  the  last  two  words  might  also  be  pronounced 

gi'en,  e'en  under  §  8  (ix)  (a).    Konig  (p.  37)  scans  apron-men  in  iv.  6.  97, 
but  an  anapaestic  rhythm  (§  12  (iii))  seems  almost  less  harsh. 


204  CORIOLANUS. 

(c)  Before  r — feverous  (i.  4.  61),  cormorant^..  1.  m),  suffering  (1.  i. 
59),  reverend  (it  2.  38),  encountering  (i.  6.  8),  interims  (i.  6.  5),  rumourer 
(iv.  6.  47);  but  peremptory  (iii.  1.  94,  286),  and  of  course  aust'er'ity  (iv.  7. 
44),  where  the  vowel  is  stressed.  The  contraction  is  somewhat  harsher 
when  another  consonant  follows  the  r,  as  in  coverture  (i.  9.  46),  properly 
(v.  2.  77),  recomfqrted  (v.  4.  45),  and  liberties  (ii.  3.  171);  but  we  have 
also  liberties  (ii.  3.  206).  The  word  spirit  presents  difficulties.  It 
seems  to  be  always  contracted  in  this  play  (e.g.  i.  5.  13;  ii.  1.  145;  iii. 
2.  97,  112;  iv.  1.  16),  except  where  it  occurs  at  the  end  of  a  line  in 
feminine  rhythm  (iii.  1.  95;  iv.  1.  4).  The  contraction  cannot  well  take 
the  form  spirit;  because  the  first  syllable  is  stressed.  Some  metrists 
think  that  in  such  cases  the  alternative  form  sprite  should  be  used. 
Others  would  treat  the  second  i  as  elided  before  t  (cf.  (ii)  below),  and 
pronounce  spirit. 

(d)  Before  m — alarum  (ii.  2.  72),  enemy  (iv.  4.  24),  venomous  (iv.  1. 
23),  impediment  (i.  1.  64;  ii.  3.  129),  and  recompense  (iii.  1.  121).  The 
first  syllable  of  ceremony  (ii.  2.  137)  was  probably  pronounced  ceer-,  on 
the  analogy  of  cerement  and  cere-cloth.  And  gentlemen  (i.  6.  42)  was 
probably  shortened  into  gent' men  or  even  gem  men. 

(e)  Before  b  (in  words  ending  in  -able)— hospitable  (i.  10.  26);  com- 
mendable (iv.  7.  50),  unvulnerqble  (v.  3.  73);  but  unsepardble  (iv.  4.  16). 
Perhaps  in  all  these  cases  we  should  treat  the  e  or  the  ble  (bet)  as  elided 
(under  (ii)  (a)),  though  this  is  not  the  modern  way  of  shortening  the 
words.  There  is  a  double  contraction  in  honourable  (v.  3.  154),  either 
to  honourable  or  honourable.  Now,  of  course,  it  would  be  honourable 
(hon'ble). 

(  f)  Before  c  (soft)— officer  (iv.  6.  126),  policy  (iii.  2.  42),  but  policy  (iv. 
6.  127);  and  c  hard — unmusical  (iv.  5.  56),  tyrannical  (iii.  3.  2),  but 
tyrannical  (iii.  3.  65). 

(g)  Before  d— remedy  (iii.  2.  26),  evident  (iv.  7.  51),  but  evident  (v.  3. 
112). 

ih)  Before/— benefit  (v.  6.  67). 

(*')  Before g— marriages  (i.  1.  185);  but  cf.  §  8  (i)  (c). 

(j)  Before  s— carcasses  (iii.  3.  122);  but  cf.  §  8  (i)  (c).  Shakespeare 
seems  to  make  the  modern  distinction  between  courtesy  (v.  3.  161)  and 
curtsy  (v.  3.  27). 

(k)  Before  t — extremity  (iv.  1.  4),  priority  (i.  1.  238),  charity  (v.  6.  12), 
senators  (iii.  1.  92),  territories  (iv.  6.  77),  competency  (i.  1.  129),  inherit' 
ance  (iii.  2.  68);  but  on  the  other  hand  surety  (iii.  1.  178). 

(/)  Before  w— followers  (i.  4.  44),  following  (i.  4.  49). 

(iii)  By  a  converse  process,  a  short,  unstressed  vowel  sound 
is  occasionally  inserted  before  a  vowel-like,  so  as  to  create  an 
additional  syllable.     Thus  we  have : 

(a)  Before  l—assemb\e\ly  (i.  1.  145),  kind[e\ly  (i.  9.  82),  nob[e]ler  (iii. 
2.  6). 

(b)  Before  r — count[e]ry  (i.  9.  17).  The  forms  through,  thorough,  now 
confined  to  different  senses,  are  used  indiscriminately  by  Shakespeare. 
Cf.  v.  3.  114. 

(iv)  Some  words  suffer  the  elision  of  an  unstressed  prefix, 
especially  when  that  consists  of  a  vowel  unaccompanied  by 


ESSAY  ON  METRE.  205 

consonants.  In  this  play  we  have  'gainst  for  against  (i.  9.  30; 
iv.  6.  66),  'larum  for  alarum  (i.  4.  9),  'voided  for  avoided  (iv. 
5.  80),  /tfTT  for  &?/£?r£  (i.  1.  no,  &c.),  'twixt  for  betwixt  (iv.  5. 
121). 

(v)  Many  common  words,  pronouns,  auxiliaries,  preposi- 
tions, articles,  and  the  like,  suffer  mutilation  in  various  ways, 
and  merge  in  colloquial  combinations.  Thus  we  have  to't, 
is't,  'tis,  I'm,  I'll,  I 'Id,  they've,  thou' rt,  you're,  &c;  also 
thou' st  for  thou  hast  (iv.  5.  101),  thou' It  for  thou  wilt  (i.  9.  2), 
y  for  you  (iii.  2.  48),  'm  for  him  (i.  3.  27;  9.  88;  iii.  1.  244; 
2.  92;  v.  1.  39).  Shall  seems  to  be  represented  by  'st  in  i.  1. 
1 16,  and  by  '11  in  i.  1.  216.  The  abbreviation  's  stands  either 
for  is,  for  us  (i.  2.  28;  4.  42;  7.  6;  v.  1.  35),  or  for  his  (i.  10. 
27;  ii.  1.  145,  170).  Have,  them,  more,  on,  of,  in  become 
Hrf,  'em,  mde,  d,  €,  but  this  shortening  does  not  affect  the 
number  of  syllables.  Very  rarely  the  personal  pronoun  is 
altogether  omitted  before  an  auxiliary.  The  only  instance 
in  this  play  is  'has  for  he  has  (iii.  1.  161,  162).  Oaths  and 
blessings  are  abbreviated:  thus  'sdeath  for  God's  death  (i.  1. 
208),  and  God-den  for  Good-even,  or  perhaps  God  give  you 
good  even  (iv.  6.  20,  21).  Finally  to  becomes  /'  before  a 
vowel,  and  the  becomes  th'  before  either  a  vowel  or  a  con- 
sonant. 

Such  colloquial  contractions  are  common  in  all  of  the  later 
plays,  and  especially  perhaps  in  Coriolanus.  Konig  (pp.  47, 
50)  reckons  32  instances  in  the  play  of  th'  before  a  vowel,  and 
105  of  th'  before  a  consonant.  These,  like  some  other  col- 
loquial forms,  occur  in  prose  as  well  as  verse. 

(vi)  Two  adjacent  unstressed  vowels  are  often  merged  into 
a  single  syllable.  Thus  rebellion  (i.  1.  148),  variable  (ii.  1. 
196),  being  (i.  1.  147),  arguing  (i.  1.  212),  plebeians  (iii.  1.  101); 
but  malicious  (i.  1.  79),  recreant  (v.  3.  114).  Often  this  merg- 
ing is  due  to  the  consonantal  affinities  of  certain  vowels;  thus 
i  and  y  readily  become  consonants,  as  in  pitying  (i.  6.  36), 
valiant  (i.  1.  250),  lovelier  (i.  3.  38);  and  so,  too,  with  u  in 
mutually  (i.  1.  93).  A  final  y  even  coalesces  with  a  following 
initial  vowel;  thus,  merry  as  (i.  6.  31),  many  an  (iv.  4.  2), 

gibingly  ungravely  (ii.  3.  216),  thy  opposers  (i.  5.  21);  and 
there  appears  to  be  a  similar  coalescence  of  two  vowels  in 

so  incapable  (iv.  6.  120).  The  combination  ti  produces  a 
sound  resembling  sh,  as  in  ostentation  (i.  6.  86),  dissentious 
(i.  1.  154),  nuptial  (i.  6.  31);  but  we  have  also  nation  (iii.  3. 


206  CORIOLANUS. 

132),  disposition  (i.  6.  impatience  (iii.  1.  191).  The  uncon- 
tracted  forms  seem  to  be  only  found  before  a  well-marked 
pause. 

(vii)  Similarly  an  unstressed  vowel  is  often  absorbed  into 
an  adjacent  stressed  vowel  or  diphthong.  Thus  superflu'ity 
(i.  1.  217),  pow'er  (i.  1.  102),  tying  (ii.  3.  188),  to' ward  (ii.  2. 
&&\f ires'  {fi'ers)  (i.  4-'39)>  entire'  (i.  4.  55),  pray'ers  (iv.  1.  43), 

cow'ardly  (i.  6.  3;  iv.  6.  122);  but  also  prayers  (v.  3.  105,  171), 
/Sr*?  (Jfer),  (i.  1.  182),  cowardly  (i.  1.  194). 

(viii)  By  a  converse  process,  a  long  vowel  or  diphthong  is 
sometimes,  but  rarely,  split  up  into  two  syllables,  one  stressed 
and  one  unstressed.  In  this  play  we  have  tears  (v.  6.  101), 
yours  (i.  4.  2),  real  (iii.  1.  147),  heart  (iii.  2.  54). 

(ix)  Certain  consonants  can  be  elided  when  they  come  be- 
tween two  vowels,  and  the  vowels  then  coalesce  into  a  single 
syllable.     These  consonants  are  v,  th,  and  k. 

(a)  v.  In  accordance  with  this  principle  never  becomes  ne'er,  and 
over  becomes  o'er;  possibly  also  we  get  e'en  for  even,  and  gi'en  for  given; 
but  cf.  (ii)  (5).  Somewhat  rare  and  harsh  forms  are  giving  (v.  6.  54)  and 
having  (i.  9.  11;  iii.  1.  160). 

(6)  th,  The  most  usual  example  is  whether,  which  must  be  pro- 
nounced whe'er  in  iii.  1.  251;  iv.  7.  37,  41.  We  have  also  whither  (iv. 
i.  34),  and  together  (iv.  4.  15),  but  together  (iv.  5.  122).  Since,  the  con- 
tracted form  of  sithence  (iii.  1.  47),  has  now  become  normal. 

(c)  k.     The  only  example  is  ta'en  for  taken. 

[N.B.  —  (1)  Contractions  of  all  kinds  are  far  more  numerous  in  the 
later  plays,  when  Shakespeare  was  trying  to  cram  as  much  thought  as 
he  could  into  his  lines.  In  the  present  play  contracted  forms  generally 
occur  in  the  middle  of  the  line,  open  forms  at  the  end  of  the  line  or  be- 
fore a  pause.  The  license  of  the  feminine  rhythm  (§  13)  accounts  in 
part  for  this. 

(2)  I  have  not  distinguished  between  elision  and  slurring.  In  the 
one  case  the  sound  is  completely  dropped;  in  the  other  it  is  passed  over 
so  rapidly  as  to  be  barely  appreciable.  But  in  both  cases  it  is  regarded 
as  non-existent  for  metrical  purposes.  I  should  add  that  some  syllables 
which  Kbnig  and  others  treat  as  slurred,  I  regard  as  forming  part  of 
trisyllabic  feet.     Cf.  §  12  (iii). 

(3)  The  spelling  of  the  Qq.  Ff.  gives  very  little  help  in  determining  the 
more  difficult  questions  of  contraction.  They  only  mark  a  few  elisions, 
and  those  not  consistently.  In  the  present  play  th'  is  generally,  but  've 
rarely,  marked  in  Fi.  Nor  are  such  excellent  modern  editions  as  the 
Cambridge  Shakespeare  quite  faultless  in  this  respect.] 

§  9.  Proper  Names. — These  are  generally  the  occasion  of 


ESSAY  ON  METRE.  207 

many  irregularities,  but  they  do  not  present  any  difficulty  in 
this  play.  We  can  pronounce  Mene'niiis,  Volum'nid,  An'tiiim, 
or  Mene'nius,  Volum'nia,  An'tium,  and  this  applies  to  all  the 
names  with  similar  Latin  endings.  We  have  Cori'oles  (always 
spelt  Corioles,  not  Corioli,  in  North's  Plutarch,  and  in  F  1 
Corioles,  Corialus,  or  Coriolus)  and  Cori'oles-,  Co/ioldnus 
and  Cor'ibla'nus1;  Capitol  and  Capitol.  On  the  analogy  of 
Cori'oles  we  should  pronounce  Anti'ates  (i.  8.  53,  $9). 

§  10.  Stress  Variation. — The  normal  prose  stress  of  cer- 
tain words  was,  and  to  some  extent  still  is,  variable  in  verse. 

(i)  In  words  of  Romance  origin  this  is  often  due  to  the 
conflict  between  the  pronunciation  suggested  by  the  analogy 
of  Latin,  and  that  suggested  by  the  Teutonic  tendency, 
already  spoken  of  (§  2),  to  throw  the  stress  as  near  the 
beginning  of  the  word  as  possible.  Thus  we  have  exile'  (v. 
3.  96)  as  well  as  exile  (v.  3.  45),  re'venge  (v.  2.  77)  as  well  as 
revenge'  (v.  3.  45);  and  en'dure  (i.  6.  58),  ce'ment  (iv.  6.  85), 
instead  of  endure',  cement'.  We  have  always ple'beians  and  not 
piebe'ians. 

(ii)  In  some  compound  words  which  are  still  felt  as  made 
up  of  two  parts,  the  stress  may  fall  on  either  part,  according 
to  the  emphasis  desired.  Thus  we  have  where'in  (i.  6.  56), 
sometime'  (v.  1.  2),  myself  (y.  3.  118),  cannot'  (i.  1.  132)  instead 
of  the  now  more  normal  wherein',  some1  time,  myself,  cafi'not. 

[N.B. — (1)  Owing  to  the  conflict  between  the  Romance  and  Teutonic 
pronunciation,  even  the  normal  Elizabethan  stress  does  not  always  agree 
with  ours.     Shakespeare  always  has  perse 'ver,  generally  an' tic. 

(2)  In  some  cases  where  the  Elizabethan  stress  was  variable,  we  retain 
both  forms  in  different  senses,  thus:  an' tic,  antique1,  and  hu'man,  hu- 
mane".] 

§  11.  Varieties  of  Metre.— So  much,  then,  for  the  possible 
variations  in  the  materials  which  have  to  be  disposed  into 
metre;  we  come  now  to  those  of  metre  itself.  These  may 
take  the  form  of  (a)  variations  upon  the  iambic  character  of 
the  foot;  (b)  variations  due  to  the  insertion  of  supernumerary 
extra-metrical  syllables;  (c)  variations  due  to  mutilation  of  a 
foot;  (d)  variations  in  the  number  of  feet  in  the  line;  {e) 
variations  in  the  number  and  position  of  the  pauses. 

1  On  the  scansion  of  Corioli  and  Coriolanus  cf.  communications  by  B.  Dawson 
in  Academy  for  Jan.  8.  1887,  and  by  Elze  in  Eugiische  Studien,  x.  367;  but  Elze's 
scansions  appear  to  me  to  be  mostly  wrong.     I  scan  ii.  1.  150 — 

In  hon'  I  our  fol'  |  lows  Cor'  |  iola'(nus):  cf.  §  15  (ii). 
(M415)  P 


208  CORIOLANUS. 

§  12.  Non- Iambic  Feet. 

(i)  Spondee  and  Pyrrhic.  Lines  containing  the  complete 
number  of  five  iambic  feet  are  always  comparatively  rare, 
and  in  the  later  plays  hard  to  find.  If  they  were  frequent, 
they  would  produce  a  stiff  and  unnatural  effect  of  regular 
rise  and  fall. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  produce  a  more  natural  rhythm, 
level  stress  is  introduced  into  one  or  more  feet.  That  is  to 
say,  the  unstressed  and  stressed  syllables  of  the  iamb  are 
replaced  by  two  stressed  syllables  (spondee),  or  two  unstressed 
syllables  ( pyrrhic) :  thus — 

To  tear'  [  with  thun'-  |  der  the  |  wide'  cheeks'  |  o'  th'  air'  (v.  3.  151). 

Here  the  fourth  foot  is  a  spondee,  the  third  a  pyrrhic 

The  principle  which  limits  all  variations  in  blank  verse  is 
that  the  general  character  of  the  rhythm  must  not  be  de- 
stroyed. Too  many  pyrrhics  or  spondees  would  make  the 
verse  altogether  too  light  or  too  heavy.  As  a  rule,  therefore, 
we  do  not  find  more  than  six  or  less  than  three  stressed 
syllables  in  a  line,  nor  more  than  three  unstressed  syllables 
together. 

An  excess  of  spondees  occurs  in  emphatic  passages,  as  in 
Coriolanus'  excited  rebuke  to  the  soldiers — 

AH'  hurt'  I  behind';  |  backs'  red',  |  and  fa'-  |  ces  pale*  |  (i.  4.  37). 

A  pyrrhic  is  very  common  in  the  last  foot,  where  the  pause 
to  some  extent  supplies  the  place  cf  a  stress. 

(ii)  Trochee.  Frequently  the  normal  order  of  non-stress 
and  stress  is  inverted,  that  is  to  say,  a  trochee  replaces  the 
iamb.  This  substitution  is  made  most  easily  after  a  pause, 
and  therefore  it  is  by  far  the  most  common  in  the  first  foot, 
and  next  to  that  in  the  third  and  fourth,  after  the  mid-line 
pause.     It  is  rare  in  the  second  and  fifth  feet. 

1st  foot.  Long'  as  |  ray  ex'-  |  ile,  sweet'  |  as  my  |  revenge'  (v.  3.  45). 
2nd  foot.  Thy  knee'  |  buss'ing  |  the  stones'  |  —  for  in  |  such  bus'i(ness) 

(iii.  2.  75). 
3rd  foot.  As  with  I  a  man'  |  bus'ied  |  about'  |  decrees' ;  (i.  6.  34). 
4th  foot.  Thou  'st  done'  |  a  deed'  |  whereat'  |  val'our  |  will  weep' :  (v.  6. 

133). 
Sthfoot.  Cor.  And  sav7  |  ing  those'  |  that  eye'  (thee).  | 

Vol.  Your  knee',  |  sir'rah  (v.  3.  75). 

Two  trochees  occur  frequently  in  one  line,  less  often  in 

succession. 

Bet'ter  |  it  is  |  to  die',  |  bet'ter  |  to  starve'  (ii.  3.  104). 

And  hews'  |  down  oaks'  |  with  rush'(es).  |  Hang' ye!  |  Trust' ye (i.  1. 172) 


ESSAY   ON   METRE.  209 

Three  are  very  rare ;  they  tend  to  obscure  the  iambic  char- 
acter of  the  rhythm.  The  only  instance  I  have  observed  in 
the  play  is  in  the  proclamation — 

Cai'us  I  Mar'cius  |  Cor'i  |  olan'  |  us!     Bear'  (i.  9.  64), 

where  the  rhythm  is  intentionally  broken. 

(iii)  Trisyllabic  Feet.  In  his  later  blank  verse  Shake- 
speare occasionally  allows  the  stress  to  carry  with  it  two  un- 
stressed syllables  instead  of  one  only ;  that  is,  he  substitutes 
an  anapaest  for  the  iamb.  This  takes  place  generally  after 
a  strong  pause,  and  in  this  play  always  at  the  beginning  of 
the  line.  In  such  cases  the  unstressed  syllable  is  always 
kept  as  short  in  quantity  as  possible.  Often  it  consists 
merely  of  /  or  a.  Possibly  a  dactyl  or  even  a  tribrach  (three 
unstressed  syllables)  may  occasionally  be  used  in  the  same 
way. 

I  find  the  following  clear  cases  of  anapaests  in  Coriolanus — 

(1)  Lart.  F5r  a  se'-  |  cond  course'  |  of  fight'.  | 

Mu.  Sir,  praise'  |  me  not'  (i.  5.  16). 

(2)  At  a  poor7  |  man's  house' ;  |  he  used'  |  me  kind'-  |  [e]ly  (i.  9.  82). 

(3)  Cor.  May  T  change'  |  these  gar'(ments)?  | 

Sic.  You  may',  (sir)  (ii.  3.  137). 

(4)  Men.  Who  did  hoot'  |  him  out  |  o'  th'  ci'-  I  ty. 

Com.  But  I  I  fear'  (iv.  6.  123). 

(5)  TO  th'  ensu'-  |  ing  age'  |  abhorred'  |  .     Speak'  to  |  me,  son'  (v.  3. 

^148). 

(6)  Auf.  I  was  moved'  |  withal'.  | 

Cor.  I  dare'  |  be  sworn'  |  you  were  (v.  3.  194). 

(7)  Art  thou  cer'-  |  tain  this  |  is  true'?  |  Is'  it  |  most'  cer(tain)  (v.  4. 41). 

(8)  T  was  forced'  |  to  scold'.  |  Your  judg'-  |  ments,  my  |  grave'  lords' 

(v.  6.  106). 

[N.B. — In  the  eight  instances  enumerated  above  the  foot  is  distinctly 
felt  as  a  trisyllabic  one,  and  cannot  be  explained  away  as  an  elision  or 
slurring.  In  all  the  later  plays,  at  least,  there  are  similar  cases.  But  it 
is  possible  to  carry  the  principle  further,  and  treat  many  of  the  harsher 
elisions  or  slurrings  enumerated  in  §  8  as  being  in  reality  trisyllabic. 
And  in  practice  many  good  readers  do  so  treat  them.  In  fact,  the  three 
grades,  complete  elision,  imperfect  elision  or  slurring,  and  trisyllabic 
feet,  run  very  much  into  each  other,  and  it  is  difficult  to  draw  a  hard- 
and-fast  distinction  between  them.  For  the  purposes  of  this  edition  I 
have  systematically  printed  i'  th'  city,  I've  seen,  t'  oppose,  and  the  like, 
but  the  reader  is  at  liberty  to  read  in  the  city,  I  have  seen,  to  oppose,  so 
long  as  he  does  not  give  to  his  trisyllabic  foot  a  greater  time  value  than 
that  of  an  ordinary  iamb.  And  so,  mutatis  mutandis,  with  other  cases 
of  slurring.  But  at  the  same  time  he  must  remember  that  the  Eliza- 
bethans may  have  clipped  their  words  a  great  deal  more  definitely  than 
we  do.] 


210  CORIOLANUS. 

§13.  Feminine  Rhythm. — Often  an  extra-metrical  un- 
stressed syllable  is  added  after  the  stress,  before  a  pause. 
The  result  is  known  as  feminine  rhythm.  It  is  most  common 
at  the  end  of  the  line,  thus — 

The  shep'-  |  herd  knows'  |  not  thun'-  |  der  from  |  a  ta'(bor)  (i.  6.  25). 
Hear'  you  |  this  Tri'-  |  ton  of  |  the  min'-  |  nows?  mark'  (you) 
His  abs'  |  olute  '  shall' '  ?  (iii.  1.  89,  90). 

But  it  is  also  frequent,  in  the  later  plays,  before  the  mid-line 
pause,  thus — 

A  root'  I  of  an'-  |  cient  en'(vy).  |    If  Ju'-J  piter  (iv.  5.  101). 
And  curse'  |  that  jus'-  |  tice  did  (it).  |  Who'  de-  |  serves'  great'(ness) 
(i.  1.  167). 

Feminine  rhythm  is  very  common  in  Coriolanus.  Mr.  Fleay 
counts  710  instances  at  the  end  and  120  in  the  middle  of  the 
line,  while  Konig  (p.  132)  finds  the  proportion  of  feminine 
line-endings  to  be  28*4,  only  six  plays  having  a  larger  propor- 
tion, viz. :  King  Lear  (28*5),  All's  Well  (29*4),  Cymbeline 
(307),  Winter's  Tale  (32*9),  Henry  VIII.  (33*3  in  the  Shake- 
speare scenes),  Tempest  (35*4). 

§  14.  Monosyllabic  Feet.— Rarely  a  line  is  mutilated  by 
the  omission  of  the  unstressed  syllable  of  one  foot.  The 
place  of  this  syllable  may  generally  be  considered  to  be  filled 
up  by  a  gesture  or  dramatic  pause.     In  this  play  we  have — 

Com.        — Know*  |  I  pray7  (you). 

Cor.  I  'U  know*  |  no  fur'(ther)  (iii.  3.  87) ; 

and, 

Let 'shear  |  our  tri-  |  bune:  peace!  |  — Speak,  |  speak,  speak  (iii.  1. 193) ; 

where  the  last  three  words  may  be  taken  as  roughly  equiva- 
lent to  two  whole  feet.  But  probably  this  instance,  like  the 
remaining  possible  ones  in  the  play,  really  comes  under  §  1 5 
(ii)  (e)  below. 

§  15.  Long  and  Short  Lines. — Lines  are  sometimes  found 
with  more  or  less  than  the  normal  five  feet. 

(i)  The  play  contains,  as  Mr.  Fleay  counts,  40  six-foot 
lines,  sometimes  called  Alexandrines.  These  often  occur 
where  a  line  is  divided  between  two  speakers,  one  foot,  as  it 
were,  overlapping.  An  Alexandrine,  like  a  five-foot  line,  may 
have  a  feminine  ending. 

No,  I  '11'  I  nor  sell'  |  nor  give'  |  him :  lend'  |  you  him  |  I  will'  (i.  4.  6). 

Men.  What'  says  |  the  oth'-  |  er  troop'?  | 

Mar.  They'  are  |  dissol'-  |  ved  hang*  ('em)!  (i.  1.  195). 


ESSAY  ON   METRE.  211 

(ii)  Shorter  lines  of  various  lengths  are  also  found,  two- 
foot  and  three-foot  being  commoner  than  one-foot  or  four- 
foot  lines. 

One  foot.  Condi'(tion) !  (i.  10.  3). 

Two  feet.  Most'  sweet'  |  voic'es  (ii.  3.  103). 

Three  feet.  So'  that  |  all'  hope'  |  is  vain'  (v.  1.  70). 

Four  feet.  Of  their  |  own' choice':  |  one's  Jun'-  |  ius  Bru'(tus)  (i.  1.207). 

It  may  be  further  noted — 

(a)  A  short  line,  like  a  five-foot  line  or  an  Alexandrine,  may 
have  a  feminine  ending. 

(b)  Broken  lines  occur  frequently,  in  late  plays,  at  the  end 
of  speeches,  where  the  next  speaker,  instead  of  completing 
an  unfinished  line,  begins  a  new  one  of  his  own  (cf.  §  16  (iv) 
below). 

{c)  Sometimes  three  half-lines  are  treated  as  equivalent 
to  two  whole  ones,  the  middle,  or,  as  it  is  often  called,  the 
amphibious  section,  doing  duty  twice  over.  This  also  is  in 
broken  dialogue.     Thus — 

Cor.  Mene'-  |  nius  e'-  |  ver  e'(ver)  |  . 

Herald.  Give  way*  |  there'  and  |  go  on' ! 

Cor.  [Give  way  there  and  go  on]  Your  hand'  and  yours'  (ii.  1.  177, 178). 

So,  too — 
Bru.  Being  moved'  |  he  will'  |  not  spare'  |  to  gird'  |  the  gods'. 
Sic.  [To  gird  the  gods].     Bemock'  |  the  mo'-  |  dest  moon' 

(i.  1.  247,  248). 

(d)  Where  a  short  line  occurs  in  the  middle  of  a  speech, 
the  place  of  the  missing  feet  may  generally  be  filled  by  an 
appropriate  pause  or  gesture. 

(e)  Short  addresses,  commands,  ejaculations,  and  outcries 
may  be  treated  as  extra-metrical  altogether. 

Lart.  Was  fev'  |  erous  and  |  did  trem'(ble). 
Sold.  Look',  sir.  | 

Lart.  [O]  'tis  Mar'(cius)!  (i.  4.  6i,  62). 

This  serves  to  explain  the  irregular  metre,  caused  by  the 
interruptions  of  the  crowd,  in  act  iii.  sec.  1,  3,  and  act  v.  sc.  6. 
Thus  in  v.  6.  131  the — 

All  Consp.  Kill,  kill,  kill,  kill,  kill  him ! 

Lords.  Hold,  hold,  hold,  hold! 

of  the  text,  would  really  be  represented  on  the  stage,  not  by 
a  metrical  line  at  all,  but  by  a  babel  of  confused  shouts. 

§  16.  Varieties  of  Pause. — The  typical  heroic  line  has  a 
well-marked  pause  at  the  end,  and  a  less  well-marked  one 


212  CORIOLANUS. 

in  the  middle,  after  the  second  or  sometimes  the  third  foot. 
These  are,  of  course,  sense  pauses,  as  well  as  metrical  pauses. 
Shakespeare  modifies  this  original  type  in  two  principal 
ways — 

(i)  He  varies  the  mid-line  pause  at  will,  omitting  it  alto- 
gether, or  making  it  as  slight  as  possible,  or  doubling  it,  or 
putting  it  after  the  first  or  fourth  foot,  or  in  the  middle  of  a 
foot. 

[N.B. — Some  writers  call  the  mid-line  pause  a  caesura.  This  is,  of 
course,  hopelessly  incorrect.  The  classical  caesura  was  a  slight  pause 
in  the  middle  and  not  at  the  end  of  a  foot.  ] 

(ii)  He  reduces  the  importance  of  the  end-line  pause,  which 
can  never  altogether  disappear,  by  putting  the  two  separated 
lines  in  close  syntactical  connection.  Such  a  connection  is 
called  an  enjambment,  and  the  first  of  the  two  lines  is  said  to 
be  run  on,  as  opposed  to  end-stopped.  Consider,  for  instance, 
v.  3.  42-50— 

Forgive  my  tyranny*,  but  do  not  say 
For  that  '  Forgive  our  Romans '.     O,  a  kiss, 
Long  as  my  exile,  sweet  as  my  revenge! 
Now,  by  the  jealous  queen  of  heaven,  that  kiss 
I  carried  from  thee,  dear;  and  my  true  lip 
Hath  virgin'd  it  e'er  since.     You  gods!   I  prate, 
And  the  most  noble  mother  of  the  earth 
Leave  unsaluted :  sink,  my  knee,  i'  th'  earth. 

Here  the  second,  third,  sixth,  and  eighth  lines  are  end-stopped, 
the  first,  fourth,  fifth,  and  seventh  run  on.  Of  course  it  is 
largely  a  matter  of  degree ;  the  enjambment  is  more  or  less 
marked,  according  as  it  is  affected  by  various  conditions,  the 
weight  of  the  syntactical  parts  separated,  the  closeness  of  the 
syntactical  connection,  the  presence  of  feminine  rhythm,  and 
the  like.  The  effect  of  this  redistribution  of  pauses  is  to 
destroy  the  independence  of  the  single  line  by  making  it  a 
member  of  an  harmoniously-arranged  group,  a  period  or  verse- 
paragraph.  Through  this  a  less  monotonous  rhythm  becomes 
possible. 

Shakespeare's  plays  show  a  constant  progress  from  an  end- 
stopped  to  a  run-on  type  of  verse.  Kdnig  (p.  134)  reckons 
that  45 '9  per  cent  of  the  lines  in  Coriolanus  are  markedly 
run  on ;  only  Cymbeline  (46*0),  and  Henry  VIII.  (53*18  in  the 
Shakespeare  scenes)  showing  a  larger  proportion. 

(iii)  An  extreme  case  of  run-on  line  is  afforded  by  the 
so-called  light  and  weak  endings.  These  are  final  syllables 
which  are  unstressed  and  proclitic ;  that  is,  they  are  closely 
connected  grammatically  with  the  words  that  follow  them, 


ESSAY  ON   METRE.  213 

and  therefore  reduce  the  pause  at  the  end  of  the  line  to  a 
minimum.  As  light  endings  are  classified,  by  Professor 
Ingram,  words  on  which  "the  voice  can  to  a  certain  small 
extent  dwell",  such  as  is,  are,  thou,  shall,  when,  was,  would, 
have,  did,  where,  you,  &c. ;  as  weak  endings,  words  "so 
essentially  proclitic  in  their  character  that  we  are  forced  to 
run  them  in  pronunciation,  no  less  than  in  sense,  into  the 
closest  connection  with  the  opening  words  of  the  succeeding 
line".  Such  are,  in  this  play,  and,  that,  for,  but,  at,  in,  than, 
if,  with,  to.  But  obviously  the  difference  is  only  one  of 
degree.  Light  and  weak  endings  only  appear  to  an  appreci- 
able extent  in  the  eight  latest  plays.  Professor  Ingram  gives 
the  percentages  of  the  two  taken  together  as  follows :  Antony 
and  Cleopatra,  3*53;  Coriolanus,  4*05  ;  Pericles  (Shakespeare 
scenes),  4*17;  Tempest,  4*59;  Cymbeline,  4'83;  Winter's  Tale, 
5*48 ;  Two  Noble  Kinsmen  (Shakespeare  scenes),  6*  10 ;  Henry 
VIII.  (Shakespeare  scenes),  7"i6.1 

(iv)  In  the  later  plays  Shakespeare  preferred  to  end  the 
speeches  in  the  middle  rather  than  at  the  end  of  a  line.  This 
is  markedly  the  case  in  Coriolanus.  Konig  (p.  134)  reckons 
the  percentage  of  speeches  (of  more  than  a  single  line)  so 
ended  as  79*0,  only  Tempest  (84*5),  Cymbeline  (85*0),  Whiter 's 
Tale  (87-6),  and  Henry  VIII.  (89  o  in  the  Shakespeare  scenes) 
giving  a  greater  proportion. 

§  17.  Rhyme. — In  the  earlier  plays  Shakespeare  used  a  good 
deal  of  rhymed  as  well  as  of  blank  verse,  often  writing  whole 
scenes  or  long  passages  in  rhyme.  The  metre  employed 
was  generally,  although  not  exclusively,  that  known  as  heroic 
verse,  consisting  of  decasyllabic  iambic  lines,  like  those  of 
blank  verse,  but  rhymed  in  couplets.  In  the  later  plays 
rhyme  is  very  sparingly  used,  and  that  not  for  ordinary 
dialogue,  but  for  some  special  purpose.     Thus : 2 

(a)  One,  two,  or  three  couplets  are  used  to  finish  off  a  scene 
or  speech,  or  section  of  a  speech,  of  blank  verse.  Rhyme 
was  use^by  Shakespeare  for  this  purpose  almost  to  the  end 
of  his  career.  Probably  it  pleased  the  actors,  who  liked  an 
effective  "curtain",  and  it  may  even  have  served  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  "cues".  Examples  in  Coriolanus  are  iv.  7.  53-56; 
v.  6.  153,  154;  in  ii.  1.  145,  146  the  couplet  closes  a  passage 
of  prose. 

1  Cf.  Prof.  J.  K.  Ingram,  On  the  "  Weak  Endings"  of  Shakespeare  (N.  S.  Soc. 
Tratis.,  1874,  p.  457). 

aCf.  F.  Heuser,  Der  Coupletreim  in  Shakespeare's  Dratnen  [Shakespeare 
Jahrbuch,  vol.  xxviii.,  p.  247). 


214  CORIOLANUS. 

(b)  Sententious  commonplaces  and  maxims  are  sometimes 
pointed  with  rhyme.  Under  this  head,  as  well  as  under  (a), 
might  come  iv.  7.  53,  54;  other  examples  are  v.  3.  129,  130, 
and  perhaps  ii.  3.  104-115,  though  this  may  be  better  classed 
under  (c). 

(c)  Markedly  lyrical  or  emotional  passages  are  often  rhymed. 
Thus  ii.  3.  104-115,  the  longest  rhymed  bit  in  the  play,  is  an 
outburst  of  Coriolanus'  pent-up  excitement. 

Two  couplets,  iv.  5.  75,  76  and  v.  6.  150,  151,  are  probably 
accidental.  The  total  number  of  couplets  in  Coriolanus  is 
therefore  only  13.  The  percentage  of  rhymed  to  blank-verse 
lines  is  *9;  four  plays  have  a  smaller  percentage,  namely, 
Antony  and  Cleopatra  (7),  Henry  VIII.  (-3),  Tempest  (-i), 
Winter's  Tale  (o).  On  the  other  hand,  the  percentage  in 
Love's  Labour's  Lost  is  62*2,  and  in  Midsummer -Night's 
Dream,  43 '4.1 

§  18.  Prose.2 

(a)  Prose  is  used,  roughly  speaking,  for  comedy  and  for 
scenes  on  a  lower  level  of  sentiment  or  emotion  to  those 
written  in  blank  verse.  Thus  the  plebeians  generally  talk 
prose,  but  turn  to  blank  verse  when  they  discuss  affairs  of 
state  in  ii.  3.  146-254.  So,  too,  the  officers  in  act  ii.  sc.  2,  the 
spies  in  act  iv.  sc.  3,  the  servants  in  act  iv.  sc.  5,  and  the 
sentinels  in  act  v.  sc.  2  talk  prose.  The  domestic  scene  in 
Volumnia's  house  (act  i.  sc.  3)  is  in  prose,  but  rises  to  blank 
verse  when  Volumnia  gets  excited  about  her  son  in  line  26. 

(b)  A  difference  of  station  between  two  parties  in  a  dialogue 
is  sometimes  marked  by  giving  one  prose,  the  other  verse ; 
sometimes,  however,  one  speaker  will  rise  to  the  verse  or 
descend  to  the  prose  level  of  another.  The  dialogue  between 
Menenius  and  the  plebeians  in  act  i.  sc.  1  affords  examples 
of  both  methods,  the  first  in  lines  43-i°4,  the  second  in  lines 
104-145.  Elsewhere  the  jovial  humour  of  Menenius  finds 
vent  in  prose,  as  in  ii.  1.  1-85,  and  Volumnia  adopts  his  mood 
in  lines  86-144,  breaking  into  blank  verse  at  the  sound  of 
Marcius'  trumpet  (cf.  §  17  (a)).  In  ii.  3.  61-101  Marcius,  as 
Delius  puts  it,  encanaillirt  sic/i,  makes  himself  common  with 
the  commoners  by  speaking  prose,  but  he  cannot  keep  up  the 
pretence  long. 

§  19.  Metre  as  an  Evidence  of  Date. — Shakespeare's  man- 
ner of  writing  was  undergoing  constant  modification  through- 

1  Konig,  op.  cit.,  p.  131. 

*Cf.  Delius,  Die  Prosa  in  Shakespeare's  Dramen  {Shakespeare- J ahrbuch, 
vol.  v.  p.  268). 


ESSAY  ON   METRE.  215 

out  his  life,  and  therefore  the  evidence  of  style,  and  especially 
of  metre,  helps  in  some  degree  to  determine  the  respective 
dates  of  the  plays.  As  has  been  pointed  out  from  time  to 
time  in  this  essay,  the  metre  of  Coriolanus  is  that  of  a  late 
play.  As  compared  with  the  earlier  ones,  it  has  many  con- 
tractions (§  8),  feminine  rhythms  (§  13),  and  enjambments 
(§  16).  Lines  of  irregular  length  are  fairly  common  (§§  14,  15), 
and  trisyllable  feet  are  found  (§  12  (iii)).  Rhyme  (§  17),  which 
is  generally  a  mark  of  early  work,  has  practically  disappeared. 
The  use  of  mid-line  pauses  (§  16  (iv)),  and  especially  of  light 
and  weak  endings  (§  16  (iii))  point  strongly  to  the  late  date  of 
the  play. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  fix  the  dates  of  the 
plays  more  precisely  on  metrical  grounds,  by  estimating  the 
prevalence  of  particular  metrical  characteristics  in  each,  in 
numerical  terms.  The  figures  thus  obtained,  and  the  tests 
based  upon  them,  do  not  seem  to  me  capable  of  such  exact 
mathematical  determination.1 

1  The  student  who  wishes  to  pursue  the  matter  may  be  referred  to  K5nig,  Der 
Vers  in  Shakspere's  Dramen,  ch.  vii.,  and  to  an  essay  by  the  Rev.  F.  G.  Fleay 
in  Ingleby's  Shakespeare,  the  Man  and  the  Book,  part  ii.  (1881),  which  contains 
Mr.  Fleay 's  latest  speculations  on  the  subject. 


GLOSSARY. 


a-  in  a-doing  (iv.  2.  5),  a  de- 
generate form  of  the  preposition 
at.  The  full  phrase  would  be  '  at 
doing '  = '  at  the  point  of  doing' . 

a'  (i.  3.  55,  &c),  a  shortened  and 
colloquial  form  of  the  preposition 
on. 

a'  (i.  3.  103,  &c),  a  shortened 
and  colloquial  form  of  the  preposi- 
tion of. 

a'  (ii.  i.  109;  v.  3.  127),  a  short- 
ened and  colloquial  form  of  the 
personal  pronoun  he. 

abate  (iii.  3.  132),  overthrow, 
humble,  weaken;  from  the  L.L. 
abbattere,  beat  down.  In  the  form 
bate  (ii.  1.  136),  lower,  remit,  the 
prefix  a  is  lost. 

abram  (ii.  3.  17),  a  form  of 
auburn,  whitish,  flaxen,  or  light 
yellow;  from  the  L. L.  alburnus, 
Lat.  albus,  white.  The  tint  in- 
tended by  the  Elizabethans  under 
this  name  is  shown  by  Florio,  who 
in  his  Ital.  Diet,  has :  "  A  Iburno. . . 
that  whitish  colour  of  women's 
hair  which  we  call  an  Alburne  or 
Aburne  colour". 

absolute,  free  from  limits  or 
conditions :  (i)  of  a  command  (iii. 
i.  90),  unqualified ;  (ii)  of  a  man 
(iv.  5.  134),  perfect,  faultless. 

abuse  (iii.  1.  58),  deceive  or 
mislead. 

addition  (i.  9.  65),  title  or  sur- 
name; cf.  Merry  Wives,  ii.  2.  312, 
"devils'  additions,  the  names  of 
fiends". 

affection  (i.  1.  94),  inclination, 
desire. 


alarum  (ii.  2.  72),  a  form  of 
alarm,  a  call  to  arms ;  from  the 
Ital.  air  arme.  In  i.  4.  9  occurs 
the  shortened  form  'larum;  cf. 
Essay  on  Metre,  §  8  (iv). 

an  (i.  1.  85;  ii.  1.  109,  &c),  a 
shortened  form  of  and  in  the 
special  sense  of  '  if '.  The  spelling 
an  was  rarely  used  in  Shakespeare's 
time.  Except  in  an't  it  occurs  only 
once  in  Fi;  but  modern  editors 
have  conveniently  appropriated  it 
to  the  conditional  use  of  the  word. 

an-hungry  (i.  1.  196),  a  corrupt 
form  of  an-hungered,  which  pro- 
bably —of-hungred,  past  part,  of 
of-hyngran,  to  be  hungry. 

anon  (ii.  3.  135,  &c),  imme- 
diately; from  the  A.S.  on  dn,  lit. 
'in  one'  [moment]. 

article  (ii.  3.  187),  clause  in  an 
agreement,  condition.  So,  too,  the 
verb  articulate  (i.  9.  76),  draw  up 
conditions. 

atone  (iv.  6.  72),  be  at  one,  agree. 
Cf.  As  You  Like  It,  v.  4.  116— 

"  When  earthly  things  made  even 
Atone  together  \ 

The  word  is  also  used  transitively 
= reconcile;  the  religious  use  'atone 
for'  is  not  found  in  Shakespeare. 

attach  (iii.  1.  175),  arrest. 

audit  (i.  1.  134),  final  account ; 
from  Lat.  audire,  to  hear. 

avoid  (iv.  5.  22,  29),  leave,  get 
out  of. 

bait  (iv.  2.  43),  worry;  lit.  make 
to  bite,  as  dogs  are  made  to  bite 
bears. 


GLOSSARY. 


217 


bale(i.  1.  i53),harm,destruction; 
from  A.S.  bealu,  evil. 

baxe  (v.  1.  20),  barefaced;  per- 
haps the  nearest  parallel  is  Henry 
VI II.,  v.  3.  125— 

"  I  come  not 
To  hear  such  flattery  no  w.and  in  my  presence; 
They  are  too  thin  and  bare  to  hide  offences  ". 

bat  (i.  1.  48,  151),  cudgel. 

batten  (iv.  5.  30),  grow  fat; 
from  Icel.  batna,  grow  better,  Ar. 
root  bat,  good. 

battle  (i.  6.  51),  army  drawn  out 
for  battle. 

bewray  (v.  3.  95),  disclose;  lit. 
accuse,  from  A.S.  be-  and  wrigan, 
to  accuse. 

billet  (iv.  3.  38),  quarter;  from 
the  '  billet '  or  written  ticket  which 
directed  the  soldier  where  to  lodge. 

bisson  (ii.  1.  57;  iii.  1.  131), 
blind;  probably  from  A.S.  bi-, 
near,  and  sion,  to  see.  Cf.  Hamlet, 
ii.  2.  529,  "threatening  the  flames 
with  bisson  rheum  ".  Here  bisson 
— blinding. 

bolt  (iii.  1.  321),  sift;  from  O.F. 
bulter,  buleter,  bureter,  sift  through 
coarse  cloth;  O.  F.  buire,  coarse 
cloth,  L.  L.  burr  a,  coarse  red  cloth, 
Lat.  burrus,  reddish,  Gk.  tru^ot, 
Gk.  xvp,  fire. 

bonnet  (iii.  2.  73),  cap. 

botcher  (ii.  1.  78),  a  mender  of 
old  clothes ;  from  botch,  patch  up, 
Dutch  botsen,  hammer  into  shape. 

brawn  (iv.  5.  118),  arm;  lit. 
muscle. 

briefly  (i.  6.  16),  a  short  time 
ago. 

brunt  (ii.  2.  96),  shock  of  an 
onset;  from  M.E.  brunt,  attack, 
Icel.  bruna,  advance  with  the  speed 
of  fire,  brenna,  burn. 

budge  (i.  6.  44),  give  way,  lit. 
move ;  from  Fr.  bouger,  move,  stir. 
So,  too,  the  noun  budger  (i.  8.  5). 

bulk  (ii.  1.  194),  stall;  from  Icel. 
bd/kr,  a  beam,  lit.  a  ridge  made 
by  the  plough,  Ar.  root  bhar,  cut. 

busa  (iii.  2.  75),  kiss.    Skeat  says 


that  the  old  form  of  the  word  was 
bass,  and  that  it  is  from  the  Fr. 
baiser,  to  kiss,  but  has  been  con- 
fused with  the  O.G.  bussen,  to  kiss. 

canker'd  (iv.  5.  89),  corrupted ; 
lit.  eaten  away  by  a  canker,  cancer, 
or  corroding  tumour. 

canon  (i.  10.  26;  iii.  1.  90),  rule, 
the  Gk.  xetvAv.  ' '  From  the  canon ' ', 
therefore,  in  iii.  1. 90  means  exactly 
'  irregular '. 

caparison  (i.  9.  12),  the  trap- 
pings of  a  horse. 

capitulate  (v.  3. 82),  maketerms; 
lit.  draw  up  under  heads,  from  L.  L. 
capitulare. 

carbonado  (iv.  5.  185),  broiled 
meat ;  a  Span,  word,  from  Lat. 
carbonem,  coal.  Such  meat  is  cut 
across  before  cooking;  hence  the 
point  of  "scotched and  notched". 
Cf.  King  Lear,  ii.  2.  41,  "Draw, 
you  rogue,  or  I  '11  so  carbonado 
your  shanks". 

cautelous  (iv.  1.  33),  crafty. 
The  noun  cautel  occurs  in  Hamlet, 
i.  3.  15 ;  it  is  from  L.  L.  cautela,  a 
precaution. 

censure  (ii.  1.  20),  opinion. 

centurion  (iv.  3.  37),  an  officer 
in  the  Roman  army  in  charge  of  a 
hundred  {centum)  men. 

changeling  (iv.  7.  11),  waverer. 
Cf.  1  Henry  IV.,  v.  1.  76,  "fickle 
changelings  and  poor  discontents  ". 

charter  (i.  9.  14;  h.  3-  T7i)» 
privilege;  lit.  a  document  granting 
a  privilege,  from  Lat.  charta,  Gk. 
xct^rvi,  paper. 

choler  (iii.  3-  25.  &c-)-  anger; 
lit.  bile,  an  excess  of  which  was 
supposed  to  cause  anger. 

clip  (iv.  5.  108),  embrace. 

cockle  (iii.  1.  70),  a  weed  among 
corn;  from  A.S.  coccel,  tares. 

coign  (v.  4.  1),  comer;  from  Fr. 
coing,  Lat.  cuneus,  wedge.  Coin 
is  from  the  same  word,  because 
coins  were  stamped  with  wedges. 
(Skeat). 


218 


CORIOLANUS. 


companion  (iv.  5.  n),  used  con- 
temptuously, in  the  sense  of  our 
'  fellow '. 

composition  (Hi-  1.  3),  terms. 

condition  (ii.  3.  9°;  v-  4-  7). 
disposition.  Cf.  As  You  Like  It, 
i.  2.  276 — 

"  Such  is  now  the  duke's  condition, 
that  he  misconstrues  all  that  you  have  done". 

confirmed  (i.  3.  56),  determined. 

confound  (i.  6.  17),  consume. 

conspectuity  (ii.  1.  57).  siS^\> 
apparently  a  coinage  of  Menenius'. 

convent  (ii.  2.  50),  summon,  a 
form  of  convene. 

converse  (ii.  1.  45).  associate, 
be  conversant  with,  in  the  sense 
of  the  Latin  conversari. 

cony  (iv.  5.  208),  a  rabbit.  The 
derivation  is  uncertain ;  the  word 
may  be  English,  and  connected 
with  Germ,  kaninchen  ;  or  it  may 
be  from  O.F.  connil,  Lat.  cuni- 
culus. 

corslet  (v.  4.  18),  breastplate. 

counter-sealed  (v.  3.  205),  con- 
firmed by  one  seal  over  against 
{contra)  another;  on  the  analogy 
of  the  more  familiar  countersign. 

coverture  (i.  9-  46).  covering. 
Cf.  Much  Ado,  iii.  1.  30,  "couched 
in  the  woodbine  coverture". 

coxcomb  (iv.  6.  134),  a  head, 
especially  a  fool's  head,  because  a 
court  fool  wore  a  cap  shaped  like 
a  cock's  comb. 

coy,  vb.  (v.  1.  6),  disdain.  In 
Midsummer- Night 's  Dream,  iv.  1. 
2,  the  only  other  place  where  the 
verb  occurs,  it= '  caress '. 

crack  (i.  3.  64),  a  smart  boy. 
Cf.  2  Henry IV.,  iii.  2.  34,  "When 
a'  was  a  crack  not  thus  high". 

crank  (i.  1.  127),  winding  pass- 
age; so  the  vb.  in  Venus  and 
Adonis,  682,  "he  cranks  and 
crosses  with  a  thousand  doubles". 

cry(iii.  3. 120),  a  pack  of  hounds; 
from  their  baying.  Cf.  Midsummer- 
Night's  Dream,  iv.  1.  121 — 

"  A  cry  more  tuneaMe 
Was  never  holla'd  to,  nor  cheer'd  with  horn  ". 


The  word  is  used  metaphorically 
for  any  company,  as  in  Hamlet, 
iii.  2.  289,  "  a  cry  of  players  ". 
curdy  (v.  3.  66),  congeal. 

debile  (i.  9.  48),  feeble;  from  the 
Latin  debilis. 

demerit (i.  1.  263),  merit,  desert; 
not  necessarily  in  the  present  bad 
sense. 

determine  (iii.  3.  43 !  v-  3-  I2°)> 
come  to  a  term  or  end  (Lat.  ter- 
minus). 

diet  (i.  9.  51;  v.  1.  57),  feed. 

directitude  (iv.  5.  205),  a  vulgar 
mistake  for  discredit. 

disbench  (ii.  2.  67),  move  from 
a  bench. 

disease  (i.  3.  99),  make  uneasy. 

disproperty  (ii.  1.  232),  make 
to  cease  to  be  property. 

doit  (i.  5.  6;  iv.  4.  \j;  v.  4.  54), 
a  small  coin,  the  Dutch  duit. 

embarquement  (i.  10. 22),  hind- 
rance, embargo,  arrest.  The  word 
does  not  occur  elsewhere;  but  cf. 
Hakluyt's  Voyages,  iii.  535,  ' '  Our 
merchants  with  their  goods  were 
embarged  or  arrested  ". 

empiricutic  (ii.  1.  104),  quack ; 
the  usual  form  is  empiric,  the  Gk. 
\fjuiru^%ii,  one  who  prescribes  from 
t,u.Ti/j/«,  experience,  instead  of 
from  science. 

end  (v.  6.  36),  a  dialectical  form 
of  inn,  to  get  in  or  'house'  crops. 
Similarly  Audley  Inn  became  Aud- 
ley  End. 

entertainment  (iv.  3.  38),  re- 
ceipt of  pay  and  rations;  a  military 
term. 

envy  (iii.  3.  3),  in  the  general 
sense  of '  ill-will '.  So,  too,  the  verb 
envy  at  (iii.  3.  95)- 

epitome  (v.  3.  68),  summary, 
abridgment,  the  Gk.  im-ro^*). 

estimate  (iii.  3.  114).  reputa- 
tion. 

exposture  (iv.  1.  36),  a  form  of 
exposure. 


GLOSSARY. 


219 


fatigate  (ii.  2.  113),  fatigued,  a 
Latinised  form  of  the  participle. 

favour  (iv.  3.  9),  appearance. 

fell  (i.  3.  42),  angry,  cruel. 

fidiused  (ii.  1.  117),  chastised; 
a  burlesque  participle  formed  from 
the  name  Aufidius. 

fillip  (v.  3.  59),  strike  lightly;  a 
form  of  flip.  Cf.  1  Henry  I V. ,  i. 
5.  255:  "  If  I  do,  fillip  me  with  a 
three-man  beetle  ". 

flamen  (ii.  r.  197),  the  Roman 
name  for  a  priest 

flaw  (v.  3.  74),  gust  of  wind. 
Cf.  Smith's  Sea  Grammar  (1627): 
' '  A  flaw  of  wind  is  a  gust,  which 
is  very  violent  upon  a  sudden,  but 
quickly  endeth";  and  Hamlet,  v. 
1.  239:  "patch  a  wall  to  expel 
the  winter's  flaw". 

flourish  (stage  directions,  pas- 
sim), a  set  of  notes  on  the  trum- 
pet, especially  used  to  mark  the 
entrance  or  exit  of  an  important 
personage.  Cf.  Naylor,  Shake- 
speare and  Music,  p.  167  and  p. 
208,  where  a  17th-century  flourish 
for  eight  trumpets  is  given. 

flout  (ii.  3.  151),  mock;  from 
Dutch  fluyten,  play  the  flute,  jeer. 

fob  (i.  1.  85),  cheat,  in  the 
phrase  fob  off,  put  off.  Cf. 
2  Henry  IV.,  ii.  1.  37,  "I  have 
...been  fubb'd  off,  and  fubb'd  off, 
and  fubb'd  off  from  this  day  to 
'  that ". 

fond  (iv.  1.  26),  foolish. 

forset  (ii.  1.  63),  a  casket.  Cf. 
note  ad  loc. 

fusty  (i.  9.  7),  mouldy;  from 
O.F.  fusti,  tasting  of  the  cask, 
fuste,  cask;  lit.  log.  Lat.  fustem, 
thick  stick. 

gangrened  (hi.  1.  306),  morti- 
fied, of  a  limb;  from  Gk.  yayy^ony*, 
an  eating  sore,  y^Uttv,  to  gnaw. 

giber  (ii.  1.  73),  mocker,  jester; 
gibe  is  from  Swed.  gipa,  to  gape, 
or  talk  nonsense. 


gin  (ii.  2.  in),  begin.  The  word 
is  not  an  abbreviation  of  begin, 
and  therefore  not  to  be  written 
'gin;  but  from  M.E.  ginnen,  A.S. 
ginnan.  Begin  is  the  same  word 
with  the  prefix  be. 

gird  (i.  1.  247),  inveigh  against, 
mock;  from  M.E.  girden,  pierce, 
M.E.  gerde,  yerde,  AS.  gyrd,  a 
rod.  The  noun  is  also  found,  in 
the  sense  of  '  sarcasm '.  Cf.  Tam- 
ing of  the  Shrew,  v.  2.  58,  "I thank 
thee  for  that  gird,  good  Tranio". 

god,  vb.  (v.  3.  11),  make  a  god 
of,  idolize. 

God-den  (ii.  1.  82;  iv.  6.  21), 
apparently  a  corruption  of  God 
give  you  good  even;  also  found 
in  the  forms  Godgigoden  {Romeo 
and  Juliet,  i.  2.  57)  and  God  dig- 
you-den  {Love's  Labour 's  Lost,  ii. 
1.  42). 

grained  (iv.  5.  106),  showing 
the  grain  of  the  wood,  rough,  un- 
painted. 

gratify  (ii.  2.  36),  recompense, 
pay.  Cf.  Merchant  of  Venice,  iv. 
1.  406,  "Antonio,  gratify  this 
gentleman". 

guardant  (v.  2.  59),  guarding; 
the  Anglo-French  form  of  the  par- 
ticiple, chiefly  used  heraldically. 

gulf,  (1)  (in.  2.  91),  whirlpool; 
(2)  (i.  1.  88),  maw,  stomach,  though 
used  here  rather  as  a  simile  for  a 
stomach.   Cf.  Macbeth,  iv.  1.  23— 

"  maw  and  gulf 
Of  the  ravin'd  salt-sea  shark  ". 

The  general  sense  is  that  of  suck- 
ing down,  swallowing;  the  word 
does  not  seem  to  be  used  by  Shake- 
speare in  the  geographical  sense 
of  '  bay '.  From  F.  golfe,  late  Gk. 
xo\$o(,  a  form  of  xoXves,  bosom, 
hollow. 

havoc  (iii.  1.  274),  slaughter; 
said  to  be  from  A.S.  hafoc,  hawk, 
so  that  '  Cry  havoc ! '  is  literally 
'  Cry  ware  hawk ! ' 

Hob  (ii.  3.  107),  a  shortened 
form  of  Robin. 


220 


CORIOLANUS. 


housekeeper  (i.  3.  48),  stay-at- 
home. 

hum  (v.  1.  49;  v.  4.  18),  say 
'hum!'  in  contempt  or  annoyance. 
Cf.  Macbeth,  iii.  6.  41 — 

"  The  cloudy  messenger  turns  me  his  back, 
And  hums,  as  who  should  say, '  You  '11  rue 

the  time 
That  clogs  me  with  this  answer'". 

humourous  (ii.  i.  42),  capri- 
cious, obeying  his  humours  or 
whims. 

husbandry  (iv.  7.  21),  manage- 
ment; from  husband  in  the  sense 
of  'master  of  a  house'. 

inherent  (iii.  2.  123),  persistent. 

inheritance  (iii.  2.  68),  obtain- 
ing, in  the  most  general  sense, 
not  only  by  will.  Cf.  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  i.  2.  28 — 

"  Even  such  delight 
Among  fresh  female  buds  shall  you  this  night 
Inherit  at  my  house  ". 

injurious  (iii.  3.  69),  insulting. 

inkling  (i.  1.  50),  hint;  from 
M.E.  inkling,  whisper,  ace.  Skeat 
from  Dan.  ymte,  mutter. 

interim  (i.  6.  5),  interval;  from 
Lat.  adv.  interim,  in  the  mean- 
time. 

Jack  (v.  2.  59),  a  contemptuous 
term,  as  in  the  phrases  Jack-in- 
omce,  Jackanapes. 

kam  (iii.  1.  303),  crooked,  awry; 
a  Celtic  word.  Hence  the  name 
of  the  winding  river  Cam.  Cot- 
grave  has,  "Brider  son  cheval  par 
la  queue,  To  goe  the  wrong  way 
to  work;  or,  to  doe  a  thing  cleane 
kam  me". 

knee  (v.  1.  5),  travel  on  the 
knees,  with  '  a  way '  as  the  object. 

la  (i.  3.  63,  84),  as  an  oath  or 
exclamation,  a  corruption  of  lord. 

leasing  (v.  2.  22),  lying;  from 
M.E.  lesung,  A.S.  leasung. 

list  (iii.  2.  128),  desire. 

lockram  (ii.  1.  193),  a  coarse 
linen,  so  called  from  the  town  of 


Lokrenan  in  Brittany,  where  it  was 
made.  By  21  Hen.  VIII.  c.  14, 
the  importation  of  "  lynnen  clothe 
called  Dowlas  and  Lockeram  "  was 
forbidden. 

lout  (iii.  2.  66),  clown;  from 
M.E.  louten,  A.S.  Itltan,  to  stoop. 

lurch  (ii.  2.  97),  rob.  Accord- 
ing to  Skeat,  two  words  have  got 
confused,  one  a  form  of  lurk,  from 
which  comes  lurcher,  the  name  of 
a  dog;  the  other  meaning  'devour ', 
from  the  Low  Lat.  lurchare,  lur- 
care. 

malkin  (ii.  1.  192),  a  kitchen- 
wench.     Cf.  Pericles,  iv.  3.  34 — 

"ours  was  blurted  at  and  held  a  malkin 
Not  worth  the  time  of  day  ". 

The  word  is  said  to  have  been 
originally  a  diminutive  of  Matilda. 

mammock  (i.  3.  61),  tear  in 
pieces.  Cf.  Moor's  Suffolk  Glos- 
sary: "  Mammuck.  To  cut  and 
hack  victuals  wastefully". 

microcosm  (ii.  1.  55),  a  man; 
man  being  supposed  to  repeat  the 
world  on  a  small  scale;  from  Gk. 
fjux^oi ,  little,  and  xoa-uo?,  the  world. 

moe  (ii.  3.  116,  &c),  a  form  of 
more. 

motion  (ii.  1.  45),  motive. 

mountebank  (iii.  2.  132),  win 
by  cheating.  A  mountebank  is 
a  juggler  or  quack;  from  Ital. 
montare,  mount,  in,  on,  banco,  a 
bench. 

mulled  (iv.  5.  219),  blunted,  dis- 
pirited; from  the  phrase  'mulled 
ale',  a  corruption  of  M.E.  molde- 
ale,  a  funeral  feast;  from  molde, 
the  earth  of  the  grave,  and  ale,  a 
feast.  The  sense  being  lost,  mulled 
was  thought  to  be  a  participle. 

mummer  (ii.  1.  66),  masked 
actor;  said  to  be  derived  from 
nurses  covering  their  faces  and 
saying  '  mum ',  to  amuse  children. 

muniment  (i.  1.  108),  defence; 
from  Lat.  munire,  fortify. 

murrain  (i.  5.  3).  pestilence; 


GLOSSARY. 


221 


from  Low  Lat.  morina,  Lat.  tnori, 
to  die. 

mutiner  (i.  i.  241),  a  form  of 
mutineer. 

napless  (ii.  1.  218),  threadbare; 
nap  snapped  cloth,  or  cloth  from 
which  the  knops  or  knots  have 
been  cut  off. 

(v.  1.  28),  smell. 


offer  (v.  i.  22),  attempt. 

opposite  (ii.  2.  19),  adversary. 

or  (iv.  1.  32),  either. 

ordinance  (iii.  2.  12),  order, 
rank. 

out  (v.  3.  41),  in  a  difficulty;  lit. 
out  of  memory  of  one's  part.  Cf. 
note  ad  loc. 

owe  (iii.  2.  130),  own. 

palter  (iii.  1.  58),  shift,  equivo- 
cate, lit.  haggle  over  paltrie, 
trash;  from  Scand.  palter,  rags. 

parcel  (i.  2.  32),  part,  portion. 

passable  (v.  2.  13),  able  to  be 
passed. 

percussion  (i.  4.  59),  sound,  lit. 
striking  on  the  ear;  from  Lat.  per- 
cutire,  to  strike. 

pester  (iv.  6.  7),  annoy. 

physical  (i.  5.  18),  salutary. 

pick  (i.  1.  191),  a  form  of  pitch. 

piece  (ii.  3.  203),  add  pieces  to, 
eke  out. 

plebeii  (passim),  a  Lat.  word; 
commoners,  members  of  the  plebs 
or  lower  classes  as  opposed  to  the 
patres,  patricians  or  aristocrats. 

points  (iv.  6.  125),  directions, 
commands,  signals.  Cf.  2  Henry 
IV.,  iv.  1.  52,  "  to  a  loud  trumpet 
and  a  point  of  war". 

poll,  (1)  (iii.  3.  10),  head;  (2) 
(iii.  1.  134),  register  of  heads  for 
voting  purposes. 

poll  (iv.  5.  199),  to  shave  the 
head. 

portance  (ii.  3.  215),  attitude, 
behaviour,  bearing. 


(ii.  1.  119),  inform. 

potch(i.  10. 15),  a  form  of  poke, 
as  pitch  is  of  pike. 

pother  (ii.  1.  202),  turmoil.  Cf. 
Lear,  iii.  2.  50 — 

"  The  great  gods, 
That  heap  this  dreadful  pother  o'er  our 
heads*. 

The  verb  pother  or  potter = to 

poke  about,  disorder,  is  a  fre- 
quentative form  of  Celtic  put, 
thrust. 

pound  (i.  4.  17),  shut  up  in  a 
pound  or  inclosure;  the  A.S.  pund. 

power  (i.  2.  9),  armed  force. 

pow-wow  (ii.  1.  128),  a  con- 
temptuous exclamation. 

practice  (iv.  1.  33),  stratagem. 

prank  (iii.  1.  23),  make  a  show, 
from  M.E.  pranken,  to  trim.  Cf. 
Winters  Tale,  iv.  4.  10,  "me, 
poor  lowly  maid,  most  goddess- 
like prank' d  up". 

preparation  (i.  2.  15),  armed 
force. 

presently  (v.  6.  119),  imme- 
diately. 

pretence  (i.  2.  20),  intention. 

proof  (i.  4.  25),  strong,  from  the 
noun  proof,  proved  or  tested  ar- 
mour. Cf.  Macbeth,  i.  2.  54, 
' '  Bellona's  bridegroom,  lapped  in 
proof". 

proper  (i.  9.  56),  own;  from 
Lat.  proprius. 

provand  (ii.  x.  235),  a  form  of 
provender ;  from  M.  E.  provende, 
Late  Lat.  praebenda,  a  payment  or 
allowance  of  provisions. 

psaltery  (v.  4.  46),  a  stringed 
instrument ;  a  Biblical  word,  from 
Gr.  ^/aXT^ev,  a  kind  of  harp.  The 
psaltery  seems  to  have  resembled 
the  modern  dulcimer,  a  small  hol- 
low chest  with  strings  stretched 
across  it.  Cf.  Naylor,  Shakespeare 
and  Music,  p.  176. 

puling  (iv.  2. 52),  whining;  from 
Fr.  piauler.  Cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
' '  A  wretched  puling  fool,  or  whin- 
ing mammet ". 


222 


CORIOLANUS. 


puny  (iv.  4. 6),  weak,  lit.  younger 
in  birth;  from  O.Fr.  puisne1,  Lat. 
post  natus,  born  after. 

quarry  (i.  1.  189),  a  heap  of 
dead  game  ;  Fr.  curie,  the  entrails 
given  to  the  hounds;  a  technical 
term  of  sport ;  from  Low  Lat. 
corata,  intestines.  Cf.  Macbeth, 
iv.  3.  206 — 

"to  relate  the  manner, 
Were,  on  the  quarry  of  these  murder'd  deer, 
To  add  the  death  of  you". 

rack  (v.  1.  16),  toil;  lit.  strain, 
stretch. 

rascal  (i.  1.  149).  scoundrel, 
rubbish ;  especially  of  a  hart  not 
yet  fit  for  hunting.  From  O.F. 
rascaille,  scum,  lit.  scrapings,  from 
Low  Lat.  rasicare,  Lat.  radere,  to 
scrape. 

recreant  (v.  3.  114),  coward; 
lit.  one  who  recants  his  faith.  Mis- 
creant, which  originally  meant 
'  heretic ',  came,  by  the  same  char- 
acteristic mediaeval  confusion  of 
ideas,  to  signify  'scoundrel*. 

rectorship  (ii.  3.  196),  guidance; 
from  Lat.  rector,  steersman,  ruler, 
regere,  to  guide. 

reechy  (ii.  1.  193),  dirty,  lit. 
smoky;  from 

reek  (iii.  3. 121),  smoke,  vapour. 
A.  S.  ric ;  so,  too,  the  participle 
reeking  (ii.  2.  117),  smoking, 
steaming. 

rejourn  (ii.  1.  63),  adjourn. 

retire,  n.  (i.  6.  3),  retreat. 

rheum  (v.  6.  45),  tears,  lit.  that 
which  flows ;  from  Gr.  ptvpa,  piu», 
to  flow. 

rive  (v.  3.  153),  split. 

roted  (iii.  2.  55),  learnt  by  heart. 
The  noun  rote  is  also  used,  as  in 
Borneo  and  Juliet,  ii.  3.  88 :  "  thy 
love  did  learn  by  rote,  and  could 
not  spell".  Rote  is  lit.  a  beaten 
track,  from  O.F.  rote  (Mod.  F. 
route),  Lat.  rupta,  a  way  broken 
through  a  forest,  rumpere,  to  break. 

rub  (iii.   1.  60),   obstacle;   lit. 


roughness  or  inequality  in  the 
ground,  especially  on  a  bowling 
green.  Cf.  Hamlet,  iii.  1.  65,  "To 
sleep;  perchance,  to  dream;  ay, 
there  's  the  rub". 

rupture  (ii.  1.  191),  a  bursting 
of  the  bowels  through  the  skin. 

ruth  (i.  1.  188),  pity. 

sackbut  (v.  4.  46),  a  musical 
instrument  used  in  the  16th  cen- 
tury, equivalent  to  the  modern 
slide  trombone.  Cf.  Naylor,  Shake- 
speare and  Music,  p.  176. 

scandal  (iii.  1.  44),  defame,  libel. 
Cf.  Cymbeline,  iii.  4.  62 — 

"  Sinon's  weeping  did  scandal  many  a  holy 
tear". 

sconce  (iii.  2.  99),  head,  also  a 
helmet,  lit.  a  small  fort,  from  Old 
Du.  schantse,  O.F.  esconser,  hide, 
Lat.  abscondere. 

scotch  (iv.  5.  184),  cut,  notch, 
as  with  a  whip.  The  vb.  scutch 
is  "to  dress  flax,  by  beating  it 
slightly".  Cf.  Macbeth,  iii.  2.  13, 
' '  We  have  scotch'd  the  snake,  not 
kill'd  it ".  So  the  noun  in  Antony 
and  Cleopatra,  iv.  7.  10,  "I  have 
yet  room  for  six  scotches  more". 

*s  death  (i.  x.  208),  a  corruption 
of  "  God's  death!"  an  oath. 

second  (iv.  6.  62),  confirm. 

seld  (ii.  1.  197),  seldom,  but  pro- 
perly seld  is  the  adj.  of  which 
seldom  is  the  adv. 

sennet  (ii.  1.  147,  s.d.),  a  set  of 
notes  on  the  trumpet,  apparently 
used  in  much  the  same  way  as  a 
flourish,  q.v.  Either  =  sonnet, 
from  Lat.  sonare,  to  sound,  or  as 
the  word  is  also  spelt  synnet, 
signet,  signate,  from  Lat.  sig- 
num,  a  signal.  Cf.  Naylor's  Shake- 
speare and  Music,  p.  178. 

sensible  (i.  3.  80),  sensitive. 

shent  (v.  2.  91),  reproached,  put 
to  shame. 

sinew  (v.  6.  44),  nerve;  the  nerve 
of  Shakespeare's  contemporaries 
corresponds  rather  to  the  sinew  or 
muscle  of  modern  English. 


GLOSSARY. 


223 


single  (ii.  1.  33),  inferior,  as 
compared  to  double,  and  so  sim- 
ple, silly.  Cf.  2  Henry  IV.,  i.  2. 
207:  "  your  chin  double,  your  wit 
single  ". 

sithence  (iii.  t.  47),  an  earlier 
and  longer  form  of  since. 

sometime  (iii.  1. 115),  formerly. 

sowl  (iv.  5.  197),  pull  by  the 
ear.     Cf.  Cole,  Lat.  Diet.— 

"  To  sowle  by  the  ears,  Aures  summa  vi 
vellere  ". 

spot  (i.  3.  49),  pattern.  Cf. 
Othello,  iii.  3.  435,  "a  handker- 
chief spotted  with  strawberries". 

stale  (i.  1.  83),  make  stale,  re- 
peat. 

still  (ii.  1.  230),  always. 

strain  (v.  3.  149),  feeling  pro- 
perly intense,  or  strained  feeling. 
Cf.  Timon,  iv.  3.  213,  "praise  his 
most  vicious  strain,  and  call  it 
excellent ". 

success  (i.  1.  251;  v.  1.  62), 
result  or  issue,  whether  good  or 
bad.  In  i.  1.  2^9  'good'  is  added 
to  give  the  full  sense,  but  else- 
where, as  in  i.  9.  74,  success  is 
used  in  the  modern  use  of  good 
success.  From  Lat.  succedere,  to 
follow  after. 

sufferance,  (1)  (i.  1. 18),  suffer- 
ing; (2)  (iii.  1.  24),  endurance. 

surcease  (iii.  2.  121),  stop.  Cf. 
use  of  the  noun  as  a  euphemism 
for  death,  in  Macbeth,  i.  7.  4 — 

"and  catch 
With  his  surcease  success"; 

The  word  is  not  connected  with 
cease,  but  is  from  O.F.  sursis, 
delay,  surseoir,  Lat.  super  sedere, 
to  desist  from,  lit.  to  sit  upon. 

synod  (v.  2.  64),  assembly,  pro- 
perly an  ecclesiastical  assembly, 
from  Gk.  truv,  together;  iios,  a  way, 
a  coming. 

tabor  (i.  6.  25;  v.  4.  47),  a  small 
drum;  from  Fr.  tabour,  Sp.  tam- 
bour, Arab,  tambtir,  a  lute  or 
drum. 

(M415 


tag  (iii.  1.  248),  for  tag-rag,  or 
tag-and-rag,  ends  and  shreds, 
rubbish;  a  tag  is  properly  a  metal 
point  at  the  end  of  a  lace. 

take  (iii.  1.  in;  iv.  4.  20),  de- 
stroy. 

tent,  (1)  (i.  9. 31),  cure,  lit.  probe, 
from  Lat.  tenlare,  to  search,  try; 
(2)  (iii.  2. 116),  to  take  up  a  tent  or 
abode,  lodge. 

testy  (ii.  1.  40),  fretful. 

tetter  (iii.  1.  79),  a  skin  disease; 
A.S.  teter,  an  itch. 

toge  (ii.  3.  106),  toga,  the  outer 
garment  of  a  Roman  dress. 

top  (ii.  1.  18),  overtop.       ( 

touch  (iv.  1.  49),  proof,  '  noble 
touch'  is  touched  or  tried  nobility. 

traducement  (i.  9.  22),  libel, 
obloquy. 

translate  (ii.  3.  180),  transfer, 
change. 

treaty  (ii.  2.  51),  subject  of 
discussion;  from  O.F.  tr alter,  to 
treat  of. 

unbarbed (iii.  2. 99),  uncovered; 
barbed  is  properly  accoutred  or 
caparisoned,  of  a  war-horse,  and  is 
either  corrupted  from  the  French 
bardi,  armed  with  a  barde  or  spike, 
from  Icel.  bard,  the  beak  of  a  war- 
vessel;  or  from  Lat.  barba,  beard. 

under  (iv.  5.  90),  infernal. 

undercrest  (i.  9.  71),  wear  as  a 
crest,  and  so  live  up  to. 

unmeriting  (ii.  x.  39),  unde- 
serving. 

vail  (iii.  1.  98),  lower,  for  avail; 
from  Fr.  avaler.  Cf.  Hamlet, 
i.  2.  70 — 

"  Do  not  for  ever  with  thy  vailed  lids. 
Seek  for  thy  noble  father  in  the  dust ". 

varlet  (v.  2.  71),  servant;  for 
vaslet,  dim.  of  O.F.  vassal,  a  de- 
pendent. 

vaward  (i.  6.  53),  vanguard. 

vent  (iv.  5.  219),  discharge;  for 
fent,  from  F.  fente,  an  aperture, 
Yv.fendre,  Lat.  findere,  to  cleave. 
Q 


224 


CORIOLANUS. 


The  noun  also  is  used  in  the  sense 
of  'discharge*.  Cf.  Antony  and 
Cleopatra,  v.  2.  352: ' '  Here  on  her 
breast  there  is  a  vent  of  blood  ". 

viand  (i.  1.  90),  food. 

vild  (i.  1. 175),  vildly  (iii.  1.  io), 
forms  of  vile,  vilely. 

virgin  (v.  3.  48),  in  the  phrase 
virgin  it,  live  as  a  virgin. 

virtue,  (1)  (i.  1.  34),  valour ;  cf. 
North's  Plutarch,  §3;  (2)  (v.  2. 
12),  power,  efficacy. 

voice  (iii.  3.  9),  vote. 

vouch  (ii.  3.  108),  testimony. 

weal,  (1)  (i.  1.  141;  iii.  1.  176), 
welfare;  (2)  (ii.  3.  172),  common- 


weal, commonwealth,  state.  So, 
too,  wealsman  (ii.  1.  48),  states- 
man. 

weed  (ii.  3.  144,  212),  garment; 
from  A.S.  waed. 

woolvish  (ii.  3.  106),  belonging 
to  a  wolf.     Cf.  note  ad  loc. 

wot  (iv.  5.  161),  know,  used  for 
the  2nd  sing. ,  but  probably  the  1st 
and  3rd  sing.  pres.  ind.  of  M.E. 
witen,  to  know.  The  correct  2nd 
sing,  is  wost  or  wottest. 

wreak  (iv.  5.  83),  vengeance. 

yond  (iii.  1.  50),  properly  an 
adverb,  but  used  for  the  adjective 
yon,  yonder. 


INDEX  OF  WORDS. 


Abram,  ii.  3.  17. 

absolute,  iii.  2.  39;  iv.  5.  1 34. 

abused,  iii.  1.  58. 

addition,  i.  9.  65. 

advanced,  i.  6.  01. 

affection,  ii.  3.  222. 

agued,  i.  4.  38. 

all,  v.  3.  97. 

allow,  iii.  3.  45.. 

answer,  ii.  3.  250. 

apt,  iii.  2.  29. 

at  a  word,  i.  3.  104. 

attends,  i.  1.  68. 

audible,  iv.  5.  218. 

avoid,  iv.  5.  22. 

bare,  v.  i.  20. 
barr'd,  iii.  1.  148. 

*  beam  of  sight ',  iii.  2.  5. 

*  be  with ',  iii.  2.  74. 
bisson,  ii.  1.  70;  iii.  1.  131. 
blood,  in,  i.  1.  149;  iv.  5.  208. 
blown,  v.  4.  44. 

bonneted,  ii.  2.  24. 
book,  v.  2.  15. 
bragg'd  progeny,  i.  8.  12. 
buttock,  ii.  1.  46. 

canon,  iii.  1.  90, 
canopy,  iv.  5.  35. 
capital,  iii.  3.  81. 
caps,  ii.  1.  61.. 

*  cast  caps',  i.  1.  203;  iii.  3.  137; 

iv.  6.  130. 
cause,  i.  vi.  76. 
censured,  ii.  1.  20. 
change  of,  ii.  1.  182. 
charge,  v.  6.  67. 
charters,  ii.  3.  171. 


choler,  iii.  3.  25. 
circumvention,  i.  2.  6. 
companions,  iv.  5.  11;  v.  2.  57. 
conclude,  iii.  1.  145. 
condition,  ii.  3.  90. 
confirmed,  i.  3.  56. 
corrected,  v.  3.  57. 
coy'd,  v.  1.  6. 
'cry  havoc',  iii.  I.  274. 
cupboarding,  i.  1.  90. 

daily  fortune,  iv.  7.  37. 
dear,  i.  1.  6;  v.  I.  3. 
decerned,  iii.  1.  291. 
declines,  ii.  1.  146. 
delay,  i.  6.  60. 
demerits,  i.  1.  263. 
determine,  iii.  3.  43;  v.  3.  120. 
dieted  to,  v.  1.  57. 
directitude,  iv.  5.  205. 
disciplined,  ii.  r.  113. 
disease,  1.  3.  99. 
dispropertied,  ii.  1.  232. 
distinctly,  iii.  1.  206. 
dog,  i.  1.  23. 
doit,  iv.  4.  17. 

end,  v.  6.  36. 
enforce,  ii.  3.  210. 
entered  in,  i.  2.  2. 
entertainment,  iv.  3.  38;  v.  2.  60. 
envy,  i.  8.  4. 
epitome,  v.  3.  68. 
estimate,  iii.  3.  114. 
estimation  (cheap),  ii.  I.  80. 

factionary,  v.  2.  29. 
fen,  iv.  1.  30. 
fielded,  i.  4.  12. 


226 


CORIOLANUS. 


fiend  (under),  iv.  5.  90. 
folds-in,  v.  6.  125. 
for,  v.  4.  89. 
force,  iii.  2.  51. 
'fore  me',  i.  I.  HO. 
forset,  ii.  I.  63. 
forsooth,  iii.  2.  85. 

garland,  i.  1.  175;  3.  10 ;  ii.  I. 

112;  2.  97. 
gawded,  ii.  1.  201. 
generosity,  i.  I.  202. 
'give  you',  i.  9.  54. 
god  of  soldiers,  v.  3.  70. 
gold,  in,  v.  1.  63. 
gratify,  ii.  2.  36. 

home,  i.  4.  38. 
hopeless,  iii.  1.  16. 
horsed,  ii.  1.  195. 
hum,  v.  i.  49;  v.  4.  18. 
humorous,  ii.  1.  42. 
hungry,  v.  3.  58. 

incorporate,  i.  1.  120. 
inherent,  iii.  2.  123. 
inheritance,  iii.  2.  68. 
instant,  v.  I.  37. 
interjoin,  iv.  4.  22. 
issues,  iv.  4.  22. 

Jack  guardant,  v.  2.  59- 
jump,  iii.  1.  54. 

knee,  v.  I.  5. 

leasing,  v.  2.  22. 
left,  i.  4.  54. 
legs,  ii.  I.  61. 
limitation,  ii.  3.  1 29. 
looks,  iii.  3.  29. 
lots,  v.  2.  10. 
lover,  v.  2.  14. 
lurched,  ii.  2.  97. 

'made  a  head',  ii.  2.  84;  iii.  I.  I. 
'  make  good ',  i.  5.  12. 
man-entered,  ii.  2.  95. 
manifest,  i.  3.  48. 


many,  iii.  I.  66. 
many-headed,  ii.  3.  15. 
match,  ii.  3.  72. 
may,  ii.  3.  31. 
measles,  iii.  I.  78. 
measure,  ii.  2.  119. 
meddle  with,  iv.  5.  33. 
memory,  iv.  5.  69. 
mercenary,  v.  6.  40. 
microcosm,  ii.  I.  55. 
misery,  ii.  2.  123. 
motive,  iii.  I.  129. 
mummers,  ii.  1.  65. 
musty,  i.  1.  217. 

name,  ii.  1.  122. 

napless,  ii.  1.  218. 

nerves,  i.  1.  128. 

nervy,  ii.  I.  145. 

night,  the  buttock  of,  ii.  I.  46. 

noble  sufferance,  iii.  I.  24. 

noise,  ii.  1.  136;  i.  5.  9. 

'no  more',  v.  6.  100. 

not,  iii.  2.  71;  3.  97. 

object,  i.  1.  16. 

occupation,  iv.  6.  97. 

o'ertaen,  i.  9.  19. 

of,  ii.  1.  64. 

'  of  a  doit ',  i.  5.  6. 

office  season'd,  iii.  3.  64. 

once,  ii.  3.  1. 

only,  i.  1.  88. 

osprey,  iv.  7.  33. 

our,  iii.  I.  121. 

out,  iv.  5.  119. 


palm,  the,  v.  3.  117. 
particular,  iv.  7.  13;  v. 
partly,  i.  I.  33. 
pass,  ii.  2.  135. 
perfecter,  ii.  1.  72. 
pestering,  iv.  6.  7. 
plainly,  v.  3.  3. 
point,  at,  v.  4.  58. 
poll,  iii.  3.  10. 
poor,  iv.  5«  26- 
pot,  i.  4.  47- 
pow-wow,  ii.  1.  128. 


1.3. 


INDEX   OF   WORDS. 


227 


present,  iii.  I.  207;  iii.  3.  21. 
presently,  v.  6.  119. 
probable,  iv.  6.  50. 
process,  iii.  I.  313. 
properly,  v.  2.  77. 
putting  on,  ii.  3.  243. 

quired  with,  iii.  2.  1 13. 

racked,  v.  I.  16. 
rakes,  i.  I.  19. 
remain,  make,  i.  4.  62. 
renown,  i.  3.  10. 
roted,  iii.  2.  55. 

scaling,  ii.  3.  240. 

scarr'd,  iv.  5.  107. 

season'd,  iii.  3.  64. 

set  on,  iii.  I.  58. 

shrug,  i.  9.  4. 

shunning,  i.  3.  28. 

side,  i.  1.  184. 

sinews,  v.  6.  44. 

something,  iv.  6.  106. 

spot,  i.  3.  49. 

stale 't,  i.  1.  83. 

stamped,  v.  2.  22. 

stand  out,  i.  I.  232. 

stand  upon 't,  ii.  2.  146. 

stay  upon,  v.  4.  6. 

still,  ii.  1.  230;  2.  129;  v.  3.  155. 

stood,  iv.  6.  45. 

stoutness,  v.  6.  26. 

strains  of  honour,  v.  3.  149. 

strong,  i.  I.  52. 

subtle,  v.  2.  20. 

success,  v.  1.  62. 

sudden,  on  the,  ii.  I.  205. 

suggest,  ii.  I.  229. 

superfluity,  i.  1.  217. 

sweet,  the,  iii.  1.  57. 

take,  iii.  1.3;  2.  59;  iv.  4.  20. 
take  in,  iii.  2.  59. 
temperance,  iii.  3.  28. 


tent  in,  iii.  2.  116. 

they,  iii.  I.  117. 

throne  in,  v.  4.  22. 

throw,  v.  2.  21. 

toge,  ii.  3.  106. 

took,  ii.  2.  104. 

to's,  ii.  1.  230. 

to't,  i.  1.  220. 

touch,  ii.  1.  239;  iv.  I.  49. 

touched,  ii.  3.  182. 

traducement,  i.  9.  22. 

treaty,  ii.  2.  51. 

true,  v.  3.  19. 

truth,  iii.  3.  18. 

tumble  past,  v.  2.  21. 

uncertainly,  iii.  3.  124. 
undercrest,  i.  9.  71. 
unfortunate,  v.  3.  97. 
ungravely,  ii.  3.  216. 
unnatural,  v.  3.  184. 
unscann'd,  iii.  I.  312. 
unshout,  v.  5.  4. 
upon,  ii.  1.  212. 

variable,  ii.  1.  196. 
verified,  v.  2.  17. 
very,  iii.  3.  60. 
virgined,  v.  3.  48. 
virtue,  i.  I.  34. 
vulgar,  ii.  1.  199. 

water,  v.  2.  67. 
weed,  ii.  3.  212. 
well-found,  ii.  2.  40. 
where  =  whereas,  i.  10.  13. 
where  =  which,  iv.  5.  105. 
wholesome,  ii.  3.  56. 
wills,  ii.  1.  226. 
win,  v.  6.  142. 
worship,  iii.  1.  142. 
worthy  to  have,  iii.  3.  26,  27. 
would,  ii.  3.  179. 
wreak,  iv.  5.  83. 

youngly,  ii.  3.  227. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Abbott,  Shakespearian  Gram- 
mar, i.  i.  33,  93,  101,  117, 
167,  223,  226,  264;  3.  24,  56, 
67;  4.  15,  23;  9.  16;  10.  16; 
ii.  1.  14,  190;  2.  7,  12,  16; 
3.  94,  120,  172;  iii.  1.  120, 
291;  2.  52;  3.  99;  iv.  1.  4; 
2.  1;  4.  13;  5.  74,  147,  218; 
6.  50;  v.  1.  1;  3.  48,  103, 
109,  1 10;  6.  5. 

accent,  i.  9.  7;  v.  3.  32,  35. 

adjective,  use  of  in  Shakespeare, 
".  1.  53- 

adverb,  transposition  of,i.l.  33, 
226;  2.  24;  3.  26;  for  preposi- 
tion, i.  4.  23. 

anachronism,  ii.  1.  104;  iii.  3.  51. 

Antiates,  iii.  3.  4. 

apologue,  i.  I.  86. 

aposiopesis,  i.  6.  3. 

Aufidius:  personal  rivalry  with 
Coriolanus,  i.  2.  intro.  ;  duel 
with  Coriolanus,  i.  8;  char- 
acter of,  i.  4.  intro. ;  i.  9.  13; 
iv.  5.  intro.;  7.  intro.,  47,  48, 
27-56;  v.  3.  4-8,  16;  6.  intro. 

Bailey,  iv.  7.  51. 

bathos,  ii.  3.  120. 

Battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  i.  3.  12. 

Becket,  iv.  6.  102. 

Beeching,  iii.  I.  131 ;  2.  74;  iv.  7. 

48-52;  v.  2.  51. 
bowls,  game  of,  v.  2.  21. 
Browning,    Caliban    on   Setebos, 

i.  3-  56. 
Bulloch,  iv.  7.  51;  v.  2.  17. 
butterfly,  varieties  of,  1.  3.  57. 


Cambridge  editors,  iii.  1.   137; 

v.  3-  76. 
candidates    for    office,    Roman 

customs  regarding,  ii.  1.  218; 

3.  36. 

Capell,  iii.  3.  130,  142. 
Cartwright,  v.  2.  17. 
characters,  appropriate  talk  of, 

i.  1.  49. 
Chesterfield,  Lord,  i.  I.  197. 
chorus,  Greek,  iv.  7.  48-52. 
Clarendon  Press,  i.  I.  98,  197. 
Clarke,  i.  9.  41-47;  iii.  I.  287. 
Coleridge,  i.  1.  172;  9.  13;   iv. 

7.  27-56. 
Collier,  John,  i.  4.  31 ;   6.  76; 

ii.  1.  44;  iii.  1.  97-IOI,   131; 

2.29;  iv.  4.  14;  5.205;  7.51; 

v.  2.  40. 
colloquialisms,    Elizabethan,    i. 

3-63. 
common-people,  Roman,  feelings 

to  Coriolanus,  i.   1.  25;  ii.  3; 

character  of,  i.  4.  46;  ii.  2.  74; 

curiosity  of,  ii.  3.  98 ;  breaths 

of,  i.  1.  52;  iii.  1.  66,  95;  re- 
lation to  nobles,  i.   I.  intro.; 

customs,  i.  1.  203. 
comparatives,  double,  i.  4.   15; 

6.  70;  iii.  1.  120;  2.  20;  iv.  78. 
constructions,  confusions  of,  ii.  2. 

16;  notes  on,  iii.  1.  146,  160, 

l6i,  184-188,  207,  272;  iii.  2. 

49,  52,  "9;  3-  89;  iv.  I.  78; 

4.  3;  7-  19;  v.  1.  34;  4.  58; 

5.  21,  22. 

Coriolanus,    character  of,   i.    1. 
intro.,  36,  154,  179,  214,  225; 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


229 


3.  intra;  6.  24;  9.  37,  89;  ii. 
1.  153,  187;  2.  69;  3.  intra, 
72,  117,  143,  227-236;  iii.  1. 
66,  89,  142,  143 ;  3.  1-5,  57; 

iv.  5.  35,  73- 
Corioli,  spelling  of,  ii.  I.  intra 
Cotgrave,  Dictionary,  iii.  I.  165. 
Craik,  English  of  Shakespeare, 

i.  1.  101. 
criminals,     punishment    of,     in 

Shakespeare's  time,  iii.  2.  2. 
customs,  Elizabethan :  burial,  v. 

6.  142;  Londoners',  iv.  6.  98. 

Delius,  1.  9.  12;  iii.  1.95;  iv. 

5.  107. 

Donne,  John,  Letter  to  Sir  Henry 

Goodere,  v.  2.  14. 
Dyce,  iii.  I.  131 ;  iv.  5.  161 ;  v. 

I.  16;  v.  5.  intro. 

eunuchs,  voice  of,  iii.  2.  1 14. 

figures  of  speech:  simile,  i.  9.  88; 
ii.  1.  46,  61-67,  20°;  3-  15; 
iii.  I.  93;  iv.  I.  I;  v.  I.  17. 
metaphor,  i.  1.  149;  6.  39; 
ii.  1.  174;  ii.  2.  105-110;  v.  4. 
9-J2>  44,  45-  metonymy,  i. 
I.  69;  iii.  2.  114;  iv.  6.  97. 
personification,  v.  I.  71.  irony, 
i.  5.  4;  iii.  2.  136;  iv.  1.  53; 

6.  intra,  38,  70;  v.  2.  87;  6. 
intro.     hyperbole,  v.  3.  58-60. 

fratres  jurati,  ii.  3.  88. 

Galen,  ii.  1.  104. 

games,  Elizabethan,  v.  2,  21. 

Globe  Editors,  iii.  2.  24. 

Gould,  iv.  2.  34. 

Gouldman,  Dictionary,  ii.  I.  63. 

Grammar,  notes  on,  i.   1.   155; 

5.  24;  9.  2;  ii.  1.  6,  14;  2.  5; 

iii.  2.  78-80;  3.  70;  iv.  1.  4; 

5.  114,  191;  6.  9,  103;  7.  27; 

v.  3.  80. 
Grant-White,  iv.  6.  67,  68;  7.  51. 
Greece,  iii.  1.  107. 


hangman,  the,  perquisites  of,  i. 

5-6. 
Hanmer,  i.  6.  6;    ii.  I.  235;  iii. 

1.  97-101 ;  2.  78-80;  iv.  6. 103; 

v.  1.  16;  v.  2.  40. 
Heath,  i.  6.  76;  iii.  1.  129;  iv. 

1.  33- 
Heroic-verse,  ii.  3.  104. 
Heywood,  Proverbs  of,  i.  4.  47. 
him,  use  of  in  antithesis,  i.  6.  36. 
him  for  it,  i.  9.  46. 
his  for  its,  i.  I.  101. 
Hudson,  i.  6.  84;  v.  2.  17. 
Hydra,  iii.  I.  93;  v.  I.  I. 

infection  carried  by  wind,  i.  4.  34. 
inversions,  i.  1.  226;  3.  34. 

Johnson,  i.  1.  16;  4.  14,  31,  32; 
ii.  1.  33,  125;  iii.  1.  90;  2.  78, 
80;  3.  64;  iv.  5.  84,85,  193; 
7.  36-44,  47;  v.  1.  67-79,  3. 

Jonson,  Ben,  Eptcoene,  ii.  2.  97. 

Keightley,  iv.  1.  33. 
Knight,  ii.  2.  24. 

Leo,  i.  6.  76;  ii.  1.  44;  v.  2.  17. 

Lettsom,  i.  1.  33.. 

Lovelace,    Lines    to    Althea    in 

Prison,  ii.  I.  43. 
Lover's  Complaint,  i.  9.  51,  52. 
Lucrece,  ii.  I.  200 ;  v.  4.  44,  45. 
Lycurgus,  ii.  I.  69. 

Malone,  ii.  3.  106;  iv.  5.  107, 
193;  7-  15;  v.  1.  67-69;  3.  58. 

Mars,  v.  3.  70. 

Mason,  v.  1.  20. 

Massinger,  Unnatural  Combat, 
i.  1.  83. 

Menenius,  character  of,  i.  1.  43, 
97,  145;  ii.  1.  intra,  25,  42, 
52,  130;  iii.  3.  57;  v.  1.  47; 
2»  15;  affection  for  Coriolanus, 
ii.  1.94,99;  feeling  of  tribunes 
towards,  ii.  2.  56;  iii.  1.  83; 
wit,  iii.  1.  251. 


230 


CORIOLANUS. 


metre,  i.  I.  49;  ii.  I.  245. 
moon,  as  symbol  of  chastity,  v. 

3-  70. 
Moyes,  Medicine  in  Shakespeare, 
iv.  1.  13;  v.  1.  54. 

name  of  play,  i.  1.  intro. 

nobles,  Elizabethan,  manners  of, 
i.  9.  4 ;  clothing  of,  Hi.  2.  9. 

North's  Plutarch,  references  to, 
1.  1.  intra,  32,  34,  36,  43,  98, 
154,  206,  242;  3.  12;  4.  1-7, 
57;  5.  intro.;  6.  24;  7.  intro.; 
8.  intro.,  4;  9.  intro.,  64;  10. 
intro.;  ii.  2.  78;  3.  intro.,  14, 
234,  235;  iii.  1.  intro.,  65,  107, 
113,  130,  213;  iv.  1.  intro., 
5,  119;  6.  intro.,  50;  7.  intro.; 
v.  1.  intro.,  63;  3.  intro.,  97; 
4.  intro.;  5.  intro.;  6.  intro. 

Notes  and  Queries,  ii.  3.  234, 235. 

noun,  used  as  adverb,  ii.  2.  5,  99. 

optative  mood,  i.  I.  249. 
or... or  for  either... or,  v.  3.  109. 

participle,  loose  construction  of, 

ii.  1.  83. 
passages  compared,  iii.  5.  7. 
pathos,  v.  3.  127,  128. 
Pat  on,  A.  P.,  ii.  1.  57,  63. 
pause,  dramatic,  iv.  5.  141. 
Peele,  Edward  I.,  i.  4.  47. 
Phioravantis  Secrets,  ii.  1.  19 1. 
plagues,  Elizabethan  varieties  of, 

iv.  1.  13. 
poll  at  Rome,  iii.  3.  10. 
Pope,  i.  6.  53;  iii.  1.  154;  iv.  5. 

187;  v.  1.  16;  3.  58. 
possessives,  double,  iii.  1.  95. 
preposition,  use  of:  with  for  by, 

iii.  3.  7;  in  for  with,  i.  9.  51, 

52;  in  for  of,  about,  ii.  2.  12; 

of  fox  about,  ii.  I.  64;  for  as  to, 

about,  ii.  2.  31.      See  also  v. 

4.  19;  iii.  3.  7.     repetition  of, 

ii.  I.  16.    omission  of,  i.  3.  56; 

ii.  1.  192;  2.  29,  99;  3.  172; 

iv.  4.  10. 


pronoun,  use  of,  i.  1.  255;  iii.  I. 
121;  3.  69;  v.  6.  5.  reflexive, 
i.  3.  24;  him  — the  one,  i.  6. 
36;  him  — it,  i.  9.  46;  which 
for  who,  v.  I.  I ;  3.  103;  who 
for  which,  omission  of,  i.  1. 167; 
iv.  4.  10.  ethic,  1.  1.  104; 
ii.  I.  90.  your,  i.  I.  64;  me, 
i.  I.  117. 

pronunciation,  ii.  3.  105. 

proverbs,  i.  I.  19;  use  of  by 
common  people,  i.  I.  197. 

punishments  in  Shakespeare's 
time,  iii.  2.  2. 

puns  of  Shakespeare,  i.  9.  5. 

physiology,  use  of  terms  in  Shake- 
speare's time,  i.  1.  128. 

Raleigh,  The  Lie,  v.  2.  57. 

relation  between  ideas,  Shake- 
speare's mode  of  indicating, 
ii.  1.  153. 

rhyme-tag,  ii.  I.  146. 

Rolfe,  iv.  4.  22. 

Rome,    state    of    parties    in,    i. 

1.  intro.,  25,  52;  4.  46;  ii.  2. 
74;  3.  intra,  14. 

Rowe,  i.  4.  54;  ii.  1.  63,  218; 
iii.  1.  90,  134,  143,  230;  2. 
115;  4.  5,  107,  221;  v.  5.  4. 

scansion,  i.  3.  27;  4.  8;  9.  41-47; 

ii.  1.  16,43,  150)  191;  3-  175; 

iii.  1.  161,  279,  329;   3.  122; 

iv.  5.  141;  7.  50;  v.  3.  125. 
Schmidt,    Shakespeare   Lexicon, 

iii.  1.  154;  3.  64;  iv.  5.  101. 
Scripture,  references  to,  i.  1.  197; 

iii.  1.  82. 
Singer,  i.  6.  76,  84;  iii.  1.  154; 

v.  6.  intro. 
Sonnets,  ii.  1.  55 ;  3.  227 ;  v.  I. 

14;  3.  40. 
South-wind,  Shakespeare's  opin- 
ion of,  i.  4.  30. 
Spence,  D.  M.,  ii.  3.  234,  235. 
stage,  Elizabethan,  ii.    1.    189; 

2.  292. 

stagecraft,   Shakespeare's,  i.    1, 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


231 


5,  242;  3.  intro. ;  4-9.  intro.; 

iv.  1.  intro. 
stage-directions,  1.  5.  intro;  ii.  I. 

146,  187,  234,  357. 
Staunton,  i.  1.  33;  ii.  2.  24;  iii. 

1.  97-101,  154;  iv.  2.  34,  40. 
Stevens,  i.  1.  83;  4.  8;  ii.  1.  43, 

191;  iv.  3.  9. 
subject,  omission  of,  ii.  3.  120; 

iii.  1.  259;  plural  with  singular 

verb,  iii.  3.  79. 
Suckling,  Ballad  of  a  Wedding, 

v.  4.  48. 
superstitions,  Roman,  iv.  5.  1 16. 
Sweet,  Short  English  Grammar, 

i.  1.  101. 
symbolism  in  Shakespeare,  i.  3. 

54;  v.  3.  65,  117. 

Tarpeian  rock,  iii.  I.  213;  3.  88. 
Tarquins,  expulsion  of,  ii.  2.  83- 

94;  v.  4.  40. 
Tennyson,  Maud,  iv.  5.  218. 
textual  notes,  i.  1.  23-29,  49,  83, 

99,  205,  230;  i.  2.  4;  3.  40,  56; 

4.  14,  31,32,42,  54;  5.  4;  6. 

46,  53.  76;  9-  2,  41-47;  ii-  I- 

50.    57,   63,    171,    218,   235; 

2.  7,  25,  87,  101;  3.  17,  63, 
234,235;  iii.  1.48-90,91,95, 
120,129,134,143,184-8,231, 
232,  237-242, 287, 305,  323;  2. 
24,  78,  80,  115;  3-  99,  "O, 
130,  142;  iv.  1.  30;  2.  34;  3. 
9;  4.  13;  5.  107,  129,  147,  174, 
221;  7.  27,  38,  48,  51;  v.  2. 

69;  3-  149- 

Theobald,  i.  1.  209;  4.  57;  ii.  I. 
57;  iii.  1.  91 ;  2.  32;  3-36,55, 
110;  iv.  7.  54;  v.  3.  48,  179. 

time  (dramatic)  of  play,  i.  1.  intro.; 


2.  28;  3.  104;  10.  intro.;  ii.  I. 

253;  2.   146;  iv.  3.  4,  6,  7; 

v.  I.  intro. 
Toole,  ii.  2.  62. 
tragedy,  in  what  it  consists,  i.  1. 

intro. 
tribunes,  i.  1.  243,  245;  ii.  1.  42, 

173,  175;  2.  135;  3-  H6,  200, 

218;  iii.  1.  4,  207;  3.  140;  iv. 

2.  intro.;  6.  32;  v.  I.  59. 
Triton,  iii.  I.  89. 
Two  Noble  Kinsmen,  iv.  7.  33. 
Tyrwhitt,    i.    9.   41-47;   iii    I. 

237-242. 

utterances,  condensed,  v.  1.  34. 

Valeria,  i.  3.  intro. 

verbs:  omission  of  verbof  motion, 

i.  3.  67;  iv.  2.  1;  reflexive  use 

of,  i.  3-  24. 
Virgilia,  i.  3.  intro.;  ii.   I.   160; 

v.  3.  42. 
Volumnia,  i.  3.  30 ;  ii.   I.  156; 

iii.  2.   126;   iv.  2.  19;   v.  3. 

intro. 
vulgarism,  v.  4.  27. 

Walker,  London,  ii.  2.  62. 

Warburton,  i.  9.  41-7;  iii.  1. 
231-2,  305;  v.  3.  152. 

Wetherell,  iv.  7.  51. 

women,  types  of,  i.  3.  35. 

words,  making  of  by  Shake- 
speare, i.  1.  90;  4.  38;  ii.  1. 
117,  168;  v.  2.  59,  76;  3.  11, 
48;  4.  22;  6.  39,  130;  un- 
common, i.  1.  90. 

Wright,  i.  1.  100;  iii.  1.  165; 
iv.  1.  30;  5.  218;  7.  47. 

Wyndham,  G.  H.,  ii.  3.  234. 


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Shakespeare,  Williaa 

The  tragedy  of  Coriolanus